NEWS PROVIDED BY
Oct 19, 2014, 10:19 ET
BOSTON, October 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Beat Hôtel Launches a Sunday Big Band Series with the Legendary Greg Hopkins & Modern Marvel Brian Thomas.
On Sunday, October 19, 2014 The Beat, located in Cambridge’s Harvard Square, kicks off the first night of its new Big Band Beat Series. Every Sunday from 7:00PM to 11:00PM the restaurant will be transported back in time with rotating performances from the legendary Greg Hopkins Big Band and Brian Thomas Big Band with Alex Lee Clark while guests enjoy the culinary styling of Executive Chef Ignacio Lopez and handcrafted cocktails, amazing beers, or American craft wines from the all on-tap wine list poured by The Beat’s expert bar team.
Every other week the legendary Greg Hopkins will be joined by his big band for an evening of traditional swing jazz.
The Beat Hôtel Launches a Sunday Big Band Series with the Legendary Greg Hopkins & Modern Marvel Brian Thomas
Every other week the legendary Greg Hopkins will be joined by his big band for an evening of traditional swing jazz.
REALITY CHECK - THE GREG HOPKINS QUINTET + ONE (UN-GYVE RECORDS). Cover Photograph: Mark Chester, "Painters" (California, 1983) from Twosomes (Un-Gyve Press). Six of the country's premiere jazz players offer up a Reality Check with the unparalleled compositions and arrangements of the great Greg Hopkins "the sound and spirit of a real working band." (PRNewsFoto/Un-Gyve Limited) (PRNewsFoto/UN-GYVE LIMITED)
Performer, composer and arranger Greg Hopkins began playing the trumpet at a young age. Growing up in Detroit, he spent most of his time practicing his trumpet and throwing himself into the intricacies of jazz music. Beginning his career in the Detroit area as a freelance musician, Hopkins eventually moved to Boston where he has been a Professor at Berklee College of Music since 1974. Hopkins has performed with big name jazz musicians such as: Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Dizzy Gillespie, and Gladys Knight. He has also been an arranger and jazz trumpeter with Billy Maxted and Buddy Rich orchestras, and his theater work includes 42nd Street, Dancin’, Some Like It Hot, Annie, Tommy Tune Tonight, Catskills on Broadway, West Side Story, Porgy and Bess, My Fair Lady with Rex Harrison, The King and I with Yul Brynner, Into the Woods, Ragtime, and A Chorus Line. Hopkins’ own 16-Piece Jazz Orchestra CD, “Okavongo,” is out on the Summit label, as is his quintet CD, “Quintology,” featuring Bill Pierce, Mick Goodrick and Gary Chaffee. Hopkins is also featured on the new Grammy winning jazz CD by composer Joel Pallson and his Septet, on the Icelandic label. Most recently he was trumpet soloist with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra on Arthur Welwoods composition for jazz trumpet and orchestra, on Albany Records: “Wind Sky and Clouds.”
Offsetting Hopkins’ traditional sound of the era, Brian Thomas will be joined by Alex Lee Clark for a night of progressive big band tunes. Boston based trombonist Brian Thomas is one of the most sought after musicians in the country playing music ranging from jazz to funk. He has been playing trombone since the age of 10 in his hometown of Rochester, NY and leads his own jazz quartet, big band, and funk power house Akashic Record, each of which feature his original compositions. Brian Thomas will performing with Alex Lee-Clark, who has played with the Temptations and the Four Tops (just to name a few) and has crafted a unique and exciting sound by blending jazz and pop sensibilities. He is a trumpet player, composer, and arranger currently living and teaching in Boston and is currently an in-demand performer.
Enjoy the unique sounds of Brian Thomas Big Band with Alex Lee-Clark and The Legendary Greg Hopkins Big Band while Executive Chef Ignacio Lopez serves up delicious dishes that will cater to everyone’s taste buds. For those just looking for drinks, enjoy the big band at the bar while enjoying The Beat’s wine on tap and signature cocktails. For more information or to make a reservation visit www.beathotel.com, or call 617.499.0001.
Big Band Beat! with Greg Hopkins' Big Band at Beat Hotel
On Sunday, April 19th, 2015 Beat Brasserie (aka Beat Hôtel), located in Cambridge’s Harvard Square, will host a special edition of its Big Band Sundays. From 7:00PM to 11:00PM the legendary Greg Hopkins and orchestra will take The Beat’s stage to host a tribute to the great Duke Ellington.
Greg Hopkins @ the Beat Hotel. Photo: Un-Gyve Ltd.
Reality Check on Un-Gyve Records features ten original tracks by superlative composer, arranger, and trumpeter Greg Hopkins plus a new take on the Rodgers and Hart "Spring is Here". Hear the humility and generosity of these master musicians performing these brilliant compositions, a musical dialogue born of a long-working band that has paid its dues, Reality Check is the real deal.
Six of our premiere jazz players offer up a Reality Check with the unparalleled compositions and arrangements of the great Greg Hopkins "the sound and spirit of a real working band."
An ensemble of the highest order — musicians' musicians — led by trumpeter Greg Hopkins, featuring tenor man Billy Pierce, veteran of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers and the Tony Williams Quintet; guitar guru Mick Goodrick, acclaimed for his harmonically intricate accompaniments; drum icon Gary Chaffee whose influence on the contemporary drum scene is told with an excerpt of his student roster, from Vinnie Colaiuta to Joey Kramer; Lyle Lovett's long-time pianist Tim Ray; and the powerful bassist Dave Zinno.
GREG HOPKINS started in Detroit, making his way around the globe, arranging and performing for our most celebrated musicians from Gillespie and Sinatra to the Supremes; Motown to Symphony Hall. On composing and performing Hopkins says, "After years of doing this, I know what works and what doesn't, but I still experiment. Every piece is a nail biter."
He was writer and arranger for Buddy Rich and Herb Pomeroy, and more recently for Grammy® winner Esperanza Spalding, and her "Radio Music Society" tour.
The track list for REALITY CHECK:
1) 6 on 6 5:20
2) The Lost Bagatelles Part I 3:12
3) The Lost Bagatelles Part II. 5:50
4) First Impressions 5:35
5) Spring Is Here (Comp: Rodgers/Hart) 5:53
6) Rioja 6:52
7) Affogato 6:17
8) You Too!! 5:33
9) Olive's Branch 7:05
10) Tigress 7:18
11) Reality Check 9:07
REALITY CHECK is available from Amazon, CD BABY, iTunes, Un-Gyve, and record shops.
http://www.un-gyverecords.com
http://www.un-gyve.com
http://www.greghopkins.net
SOURCE Un-Gyve Limited
The Roger Lonsdale archive, at Balliol College, Oxford, includes his reflections, in 2005, on his poetry, with lists of his ninety poems—alphabetically by first lines, and chronologically—as well as his notebooks as a poet; and, at that time, he noted, in reference to these sixteen poems from Un-Gyve Press in a numbered, limited edition of seventy-five: “At present the following seem worth preserving for one reason or another.”