Elmo Hope Trio

Elmo Hope's music is full of twists and turns that take the listener to wonderful and unexpected places. He's joined on this recording by bassist Jimmy Bond and the great West Coast drummer Frank Butler. Hope's piano playing and compositional style fit each other perfectly. All of the tunes on this album are his with the exception of a beautiful version of "Like Someone in Love."

On "B's A Plenty," Hope's solo is miraculous, with new discoveries every step of the way. You can almost hear him thinking-- taking ideas and playing with them until they dissolve into new ones. The melody of "Boa" winds snakelike through the uneven form of the tune. "Barfly" is introspective and the mood is tangible— lonely and brooding. In Hope's compositions, chords resolve to surprising places and melodic ideas are unpredictable as well.

Jimmy Bond and Frank Butler offer excellent support throughout. Butler's drumming in particular is responsive and creative, as I've grown to expect from him. This is a perfect place to start for anyone who has yet to experience Elmo Hope's world. I'm not sure whether this CD is still in print, after Concord Music Group's takeover of the Original Jazz Classics label, but it should still be fairly easy to track down.