Editing Elmo Hope

{{Short description|American jazz pianist, composer and arranger (1923–1967)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist 
| name                = Elmo Hope
| image               = File:Elmo Hope, jazz pianist.gif
| caption             = 
| image_size          = 
| background          = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| birth_name          = St. Elmo Sylvester Hope
| alias               = 
| birth_place         = New York City, New York, U.S.
| birth_date          = June 27, 1923
| death_place         = New York City, New York
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1967|5|19|1923|6|27}}
| instrument          = Piano
| genre               = [[Jazz]]
| occupation          = Musician, composer, arranger
| years_active        = 1940s–66
| label               =  
| associated_acts     = [[Bertha Hope]], [[Harold Land]], [[Thelonious Monk]], [[Bud Powell]]
| website             = 
| current_members     = 
| past_members        = 
}}

'''St. Elmo Sylvester Hope''' (June 27, 1923 – May 19, 1967) was an American [[jazz]] pianist, composer, and arranger, chiefly in the [[bebop]] and [[hard bop]] genres. He grew up playing and listening to jazz and classical music with [[Bud Powell]], and both were close friends of another influential pianist, [[Thelonious Monk]].

Hope survived being shot by police as a youth to become a New York-based musician who recorded with several emerging stars in the early to mid-1950s, including trumpeter [[Clifford Brown]], and saxophonists [[John Coltrane]], [[Lou Donaldson]], [[Jackie McLean]], and [[Sonny Rollins]]. A long-term heroin user, Hope had his license to perform in New York's clubs withdrawn after a drug conviction, so he moved to Los Angeles in 1957. He was not happy during his four years on the West Coast, but had some successful collaborations there, including with saxophonist [[Harold Land]].

More recordings as leader ensued following Hope's return to New York, but they did little to gain him more public or critical attention. Further drug and health problems reduced the frequency of his public performances, which ended a year before his death, at the age of 43. He remains little known, despite, or because of, the individuality of his playing and composing, which were complex and stressed subtlety and variation rather than the virtuosity predominant in bebop.

==Early life==
Elmo Hope was born on June 27, 1923, in New York City.{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=328}} His parents, Simon and Gertrude Hope,{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1940|pp=1, 6}} were immigrants from the Caribbean,{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=328}} and had several children.<ref name="Bertha" /> Elmo began playing the piano aged seven.{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=308}} He had classical music lessons as a child, and won solo piano recital contests from 1938.{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=328}} Fellow pianist [[Bud Powell]] was a childhood friend;{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=328}} together, they played and listened to jazz and classical music.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1993|p=55}} Hope attended [[Benjamin Franklin High School (New York City)|Benjamin Franklin High School]], which was known for its music program.{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1940|p=1}}{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=80}} He developed an excellent understanding of harmony, and composed jazz and classical pieces at school.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=80}}

At the age of 17, Hope was shot by a New York policeman.{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1940|p=1}} He was taken to [[Sydenham Hospital]], where doctors reported that the bullet had narrowly missed his spine.{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1940|p=1}} Six weeks later, after Hope had been released from the hospital, he appeared in court, charged with "assault, attempted robbery and violation of the [[Sullivan Act|Sullivan Law]]".{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1941|p=1}} The police officers involved testified in court that Hope had been part of a group of five involved in a mugging.{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1941|p=8}} None of the other four, or any of the three alleged white victims, was identified by police; Hope stated that he had been running away with other passers-by after police started shooting, and was hit while trying to enter a hallway.{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1941|p=8}} The judge dismissed the charges against Hope,{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1941|p=8}} after which Hope's attorney described the shooting as an "outrage", and the charges as "an attempted frameup".{{sfn|''New York Amsterdam News''|1941|p=1}}

Hope's recovery was slow, and he did not go back to school.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=80}} Instead, he played the piano in an assortment of [[taxi dance hall]]s and other establishments in the city.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=80}} Hope and Powell met fellow pianist [[Thelonious Monk]] in 1942, and the three young men spent much time together.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|pp=80, 147}} This was interrupted in March 1943, when Hope enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=480}}<ref name="army">[https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&q=%2232825643%22&bc=&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=3328850 "Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 – 1946 (Enlistment Records)"]. ''The National Archives''. Retrieved January 30, 2014.</ref> In the enlistment records, Hope was listed as being single, with dependents.<ref name="army" /> He had been married and had a son, who died.<ref name="ANBO">Kernfeld, Barry (February 2000). [http://www.anb.org/articles/18/18-02983.html "Hope, Elmo"]. ''American National Biography Online''. Oxford University Press.</ref> The terms of enlistment stated that Hope would be in the army "for the duration of the War [[World War II|[World War II]]] or other emergency, plus six months".<ref name="army" />

==Later life and career==

===In New York – 1947–56===
Hope's absence from the early [[bebop]] scene largely continued after he left the army, as he played principally in rhythm and blues bands for a few years.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|pp=80–81}} He was part of an octet led by trumpeter Eddie Robinson late in 1947,<ref>Dimples, June (November 15, 1947). "Cocktale Sips". ''New York Amsterdam News''. p. 22.</ref> and played briefly with [[Snub Mosley]] around the same time.<ref name="Gitler" /> Hope had his first long-term association, with the [[Joe Morris (trumpeter)|Joe Morris]] band, from 1948 to 1951,<ref name="Gitler" /> including for several recordings.<ref name="Grove">Smith, Gregory E.; Kernfeld, Barry [http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/J207400 "Hope, (St.) Elmo (Sylvester)"]. In Kernfeld, Barry (ed.) ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' (2nd edition). Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved January 13, 2014. (Subscription required.)</ref> This band toured all over the United States.<ref>Mattingly, Rick (1998). ''The Drummer's Time: Conversations with the Great Drummers of Jazz''. p. 33. Hal Leonard. {{ISBN|978-0-634-00146-8}}.</ref>

Some of those Hope met in Morris' band were also interested in jazz.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=147}} One, saxophonist [[Johnny Griffin]], recalled a group of musicians, including Hope, who practiced and learned together in New York in the days of late-1940s<ref>Kart, Larry (2004). ''Jazz in Search of Itself''. p. 31. Yale University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-300-10420-2}}.</ref> bebop: "We'd go to Monk's house in Harlem or to Elmo's house in the Bronx, we just did a lot of playing. I played piano a bit, too, so I could hear what they were all doing harmonically. But if something stumped me, I'd ask and Elmo would spell out harmonies. We'd play [[Dizzy Gillespie|Dizzy [Gillespie]'s]] tunes or [[Charlie Parker]]'s."<ref>Watrous, Peter (April 20, 1990). "Saxophone Virtuosos of Whisper and Howl". ''The New York Times''. p. C19.</ref>

This interest had expanded by June 1953, when Hope recorded in New York as part of a quintet led by trumpeter [[Clifford Brown]] and alto saxophonist [[Lou Donaldson]].<ref name="Gitler" /> Critic [[Marc Myers]] suggested that the six songs the band recorded were the first in a new form of jazz, '[[hard bop]]', that became highly influential.<ref>Myers, Marc (August 28, 2010). "'Sweet Poppa Lou', Still in His Groove". ''The Wall Street Journal''. p. A20.</ref> That 1953 session also helped Hope gain exposure with [[Blue Note Records]]' producer [[Alfred Lion]], who supervised his debut recording as a leader around a week later.<ref name="Gitler" /> This resulted in the 10-inch album ''[[Trio and Quintet|Elmo Hope Trio]]'', which had Morris alumni [[Percy Heath]] on bass and [[Philly Joe Jones]] on drums.<ref name="Gitler" /><ref name="Grove" /> The tracks recorded illustrated, according to critic Kenny Mathieson in 2012, that Hope was interested in the architecture and aural detail of the music more than in individual virtuosity.{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=309}} A further Blue Note recording session 11 months later led to ''[[Trio and Quintet|Elmo Hope Quintet, Volume 2]]''.<ref name="Gitler" /><ref name="discog">Cohen, Noal (August 28, 2013). [http://www.attictoys.com/ElmoHope/Elmo_Hope_discography.php ''The Elmo Hope Discography''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110212918/http://www.attictoys.com/ElmoHope/Elmo_Hope_discography.php |date=January 10, 2014 }}. attictoys.com</ref>

In August 1954, Hope was pianist for a [[Prestige Records]] session led by saxophonist [[Sonny Rollins]], which was released as ''[[Moving Out (album)|Moving Out]]'', and for another session with Donaldson.{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=311}} Hope signed to Prestige in 1955,<ref>"Music as Written" (July 23, 1955). ''Billboard''. Volume 47/30. p. 22.</ref> and recorded the trio album ''[[Meditations (Elmo Hope album)|Meditations]]'' for them that year. This was followed by the sextet ''[[Informal Jazz]]'' the following year, with [[Donald Byrd]] (trumpet), [[John Coltrane]] and [[Hank Mobley]] (tenor saxophones), [[Paul Chambers]] (bass), and Jones (drums). Some commentators have suggested that sessions such as this and the ones with Brown and Rollins were a hindrance to Hope's career: "He too often recorded with young, rising overshadowing talents" wrote a ''Buffalo Jazz Report'' reviewer in 1976.<ref>Mazzone, Tom (October 1976). "Elmo Hope – The All-Star Sessions – Milestone M47037". ''Buffalo Jazz Report''. Issue 32. p. 12.</ref>

In January 1956, Hope recorded with another rising star, [[Jackie McLean]], for the saxophonist's ''[[Lights Out!]]'', again for Prestige.{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=311}} In April of the same year, Hope should have appeared on saxophonist [[Gene Ammons]]' ''[[The Happy Blues]]'', but he left the record company's building before the session began and did not return.<ref name="Gitler" /> Hope claimed that he had gone to visit an aunt in hospital, but his absence was attributed by others to his heroin addiction.<ref name="Gitler" /> This had existed on and off for several years,{{sfn|Kelley|2008|pp=151, 208}} and had led to at least one spell in prison.<ref>Nisenson, Eric (2000) [https://books.google.com/books?id=4n7lCQAAQBAJ&q=%22elmo+hope%22 ''Open Sky – Sonny Rollins and His World of Improvisation'']. St. Martin's Press. {{ISBN|978-1-250-09262-5}}.</ref> His drug problem and associated criminal record led to the withdrawal of Hope's [[New York City Cabaret Card]] around 1956, so he was no longer permitted to play in clubs in the city.{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=328}}<ref name="Grove" />

===In Los Angeles – 1957–61===
Unable to earn a living in New York because of the performance ban, Hope toured with trumpeter [[Chet Baker]] in 1957 and then began living in Los Angeles.{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=328}} He soon found other musicians who had been influenced by bebop, including saxophonist [[Harold Land]] and bassist [[Curtis Counce]].{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=312}} Hope played with Rollins again, and, in October 1957, recorded a session known as ''The Elmo Hope Quintet Featuring Harold Land''<ref name="Grove" /> which [[Pacific Jazz]] did not release until 1962, along with the contents of a [[Ritual: The Modern Jazz Messengers|1957 Jazz Messengers album]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Umphred|first=Neal|title=Price Guide To Collectable Jazz Album, 1949–69|year=1994|location=Iola, Wisconsin|publisher=Krause|page=74}}</ref> In March of the following year, Hope became part of Counce's band, and went on to record two albums with the bassist.<ref name="ANBO" /> Hope also did some arranging for others around this time, including for Land's 1958 ''[[Harold in the Land of Jazz]]''.{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=312}} Hope also had his own band, with personnel that varied,{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=312}} and in 1959 he played with [[Lionel Hampton]] in Hollywood.<ref name="Grove" />{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|pp=328–9}} Later that year, after performances in San Francisco with two quartets – the first containing Rollins, bassist [[Scott LaFaro]], and drummer [[Lenny McBrowne]];<ref name="Grove" /><ref name="LaFaro" /> the other with Rollins replaced by Land – Hope travelled north with the Land group to play at a venue in Vancouver.<ref name="LaFaro">LaFaro-Fernandez, Helene (2009). ''Jade Visions: The Life and Music of Scott LaFaro''. pp. 89–90. University of North Texas Press. {{ISBN|978-1-57441-273-4}}.</ref>

Back in Los Angeles in August 1959, Hope was pianist for Land's quintet album ''[[The Fox (Harold Land album)|The Fox]]'';<ref name="Grove" /> he also wrote four of the album's compositions.<ref name="ANBO" /> This recording, along with ''[[Elmo Hope Trio]]'' from the same year, were, in the opinion of jazz historian [[David H. Rosenthal|David Rosenthal]], illustrative of Hope's musical development on the West Coast.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1993|pp=55–56}} The trio album received a rare five-star review from ''[[Down Beat]]'' magazine, with the comment that Hope's aesthetic was "a sort of bitter-sweet melancholy that seems to lie at the core of other jazzmen [...] who sometimes find the world 'a bit much', as the English say, to cope with."{{sfn|Rosenthal|1993|p=56}}

In 1960, Hope married the pianist Bertha Rosemond (better known as [[Bertha Hope]]), whom he met in California.<ref name="Bertha">Weeks, Todd Bryant (2010). [http://www.local802afm.org/images/allegro/mar10/Bertha_Hope-Booker_Interview.pdf "Bertha Hope-Booker Interviewed for ''Allegro''"]. Associated Musicians of Greater New York. [Interview transcript.] Retrieved January 13, 2014.</ref>{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=276}} As a jazz musician on the West Coast, Hope found his life frustrating.<ref name="Tynan" /> In his only major published interview{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=314}} (written up for ''Down Beat'' in January 1961 and entitled "Bitter Hope"), he criticized the lack of creativity in the then-popular church-influenced [[soul jazz]], complained about the shortage of good musicians in Los Angeles, and lamented the lack of work opportunities in the few jazz clubs in the area.<ref name="Tynan">Tynan, John (January 1961). "Bitter Hope". ''Down Beat''. Volume 28/1. p. 61.</ref> Hope left Los Angeles later in 1961.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1993|p=56}}{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=329}} His wife recounted that he was no longer working with Land, had recording offers from companies based on the East Coast, and still preferred it to Los Angeles, so the couple and their baby daughter moved to New York.<ref name="Bertha" />

===Back in New York – 1961–67===
In June 1961, Hope was part of Philly Joe Jones' quintet, which included trumpeter [[Freddie Hubbard]].<ref>"Philly Joe Jones Joins Monk". (June 24, 1961). ''New York Amsterdam News''. p. 20.</ref> Their first gigs were arranged by Hope's old friend, Monk, as was a recording session for [[Riverside Records]] that month, with Hope as leader.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=313}} The pianist recorded four albums in New York around 1961,<ref name="discog" /> including ''[[Hope-Full]]'', which contained his only solo tracks and some piano duets with his wife.{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=314}}<ref name="millennium" />

Some of the companies that he recorded for at this stage in his career reduced Hope's dignity, in the view of musician and critic [[Robert Palmer (American writer)|Robert Palmer]].<ref name="Palmer" /> One album was entitled ''[[High Hope!]]'' (1961), and another, released as ''[[Sounds from Rikers Island]]'' (1963) in reference to [[Rikers Island|a New York City jail complex]], featured performances exclusively by musicians who had at some point been imprisoned for drug-related crimes.<ref name="Palmer" /> Between these two sessions as leader, Hope was briefly in prison again for drug offenses.{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=315}} These and other album releases in the early 1960s did little to develop a wider awareness of Hope.{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=315}}

Hope played with McLean again late in 1962.<ref>Levin, Robert (December 6, 1962). ''The Village Voice''. p. 10.</ref> He also led a piano trio: early in 1963 it contained Ray Kenney on bass and [[Lex Humphries]] on drums;<ref>Womble, Bertha (February 9, 1963). "MacLean Concerts Draw, Provide Excellent Jazz". ''New York Amsterdam News''. p. 14.</ref> in late 1964, it had [[John Ore]] on bass and [[Billy Higgins]] on drums.<ref>"'Jazz on the West Side' Launches Fall Season Sat". ''New Pittsburgh Courier''. (November 14, 1964). p. 11.</ref> In 1965, Hope was continuing to lead a trio and quartet in the New York area.<ref>"Who Makes Music and Where". ''The New York Times''. (October 31, 1965). p. X17.</ref><ref>"Music Notes". ''The New York Times''. (April 26, 1965). p. 39.</ref> Drug and health problems, however, meant that he played less often late in his career.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1993|p=56}}{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=329}} His last recordings were made in 1966, but not released for 11 years.<ref name="BB">Verna, Paul (November 16, 1996). "The Final Sessions". ''Billboard''. Volume 108/46. p. 77.</ref> Hope's final concert was at Judson Hall in New York City in 1966.<ref name="ANBO" /> Fellow pianist [[Horace Tapscott]] reported that, later, Hope's "hands were all shot up and he couldn't play".<ref>Tapscott, Horace (2001). ''Songs of the Unsung: The Musical and Social Journey of Horace Tapscott''. p. 49. Duke University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8223-2531-4}}.</ref>

Visits to one hospital that was experienced in addressing the health problems of drug addicts left Hope feeling that he was being experimented on, so he went to another, [[Saint Clare's Hospital (Manhattan)|St. Clare's]].{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=388}} Here, according to his wife, the treatment was not adjusted for the methadone program he was on, putting added strain on his heart.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=388}} Hope was hospitalized with pneumonia in 1967 and died a few weeks later, on May 19, of heart failure.<ref name="Gitler">Gitler, Ira [http://hardbop.tripod.com/ehope.html ''Trio and Quintet'']. [Liner notes]. Blue Note. Reproduced at hardbop.tripod. Retrieved August 23, 2014.</ref> His wife was aged 31 at the time of his death.<ref>Gourse, Leslie (1996). ''Madame Jazz: Contemporary Women Instrumentalists''. p. 116. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-510647-3}}.</ref> They had three children;<ref name="ANBO" /> their daughter, Monica Hope, became a singer.<ref name="Bertha" />

==Artistry==
Hope's playing was strongly based in the blues-influenced jazz tradition.<ref name="West70" /> He employed dissonant harmonies and spiky, contrasting lines and phrases.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1993|p=56}}<ref name="West70">West, Hollie I. (October 25, 1970). "Flood of New Discs at Record Prices: Rhythm Mode". ''The Washington Post''. p. H5.</ref> Rosenthal observed that Hope's playing on one of his compositions for the 1953 Donaldson–Brown recording illustrated "many elements of the pianist's emerging style: somber, internally shifting chords in the introduction; punchy, twisting phrases in the solo; and the smoldering intensity that always characterized his best work."{{sfn|Rosenthal|1993|p=55}} Hope's sense of time meant that his note placement was unpredictable, falling at various points either side of the beat but not exactly on it.<ref name="Atkins" /> His use of keyboard [[Dynamics (music)|dynamics]] was similarly flexible, as the listener could not predict when in a performance the level would change.<ref name="Atkins">Atkins, Ronald (August 15, 1979). "Living in Hope: Ronald Atkins Reports". ''The Guardian''. p. 10.</ref> The ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' reviewer of Hope's final recordings, as reissued in 1996, wrote that "he's dynamically smoother than Monk, with a spidery, spacy touch. His harmonic and compositional approach is intricate in design and almost eerie in execution."<ref name="BB" /> ''[[CODA (magazine)|Coda]]'' critic [[Stuart Broomer]] also commented on Hope's touch, suggesting that it was unusual and light, and created a combination of delicacy and boldness that was all his own.<ref>Broomer, Stuart (January/February 1997). "Elmo Hope: Omission". ''Coda''. Volume 271. p. 36.</ref> [[Leonard Feather]] and [[Ira Gitler]] summarized Hope's abilities: he had "a style that parallels Powell, [...and] was a pianist and composer of rare harmonic acuity and very personal interpretation."{{sfn|Feather; Gitler|1999|p=329}}

==Compositions==
The ''New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'' states that Hope composed around 75 pieces of music, which "range in character from a tortuous nervousness to an introspective, semi-lyrical romanticism."<ref name="Grove" /> One example, "Minor Bertha", has an unusual 35-bar [[Thirty-two-bar form|AABA form]], with a nine-bar A-section that "utilizes unconventional rhythms and weakly functional harmonies which obscure its phrases. Such other pieces as 'One Down', 'Barfly', and 'Tranquility' [...] also offer fine examples of his idiosyncratic creativity."<ref name="Grove" />

''[[The Penguin Guide to Jazz|The Penguin Jazz Guide]]'' commented that Hope's compositions were strongly melodic, with some containing concepts of [[fugue]] and [[canon (music)|canon]] taken from classical music, but retaining foundations in the blues.<ref name="Penguin">Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2010). ''The Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in the 1001 Best Albums''. p. 144. Penguin. {{ISBN|978-0-14-104831-4}}.</ref> Atkins stated that Hope wrote highly structured, complex compositions that he played with improvisational flexibility.<ref name="Atkins" /> Mathieson pointed out that, despite the originality of Hope's compositions, they have been taken up by other musicians only rarely, as they are tied to Hope's idiosyncratic form of expression and remain difficult to play.{{sfn|Mathieson|2012|p=308}}

==Legacy and influence==
Hope, Powell, and Monk were considered by their contemporaries to be influences on each other early in their careers, and all, therefore, helped affect the development of jazz piano.<ref>Palmer, Robert (August 30, 1985). "Spectrum of Jazz Piano Masters in Village Clubs". ''The New York Times''. p. C19.</ref> Powell was known for horn-like right-hand playing supported by simple left-hand chords, which was something he had worked on with Hope.{{sfn|Kelley|2008|p=81}} Later pianists who have cited Hope as a major influence include [[Lafayette Gilchrist]],<ref>Wynn, Ron (September 2004). [http://jazztimes.com/articles/14906-lafayette-gilchrist "Lafayette Gilchrist"]. ''JazzTimes''.</ref> [[Alexander Hawkins]],<ref name="AAJ1">Sharpe, John (January 15, 2013). [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/alexander-hawkins-retaining-the-sense-of-discovery-alexander-hawkins-by-john-sharpe.php?page=1#.U72NAZ1wbDc "Alexander Hawkins: Retaining the Sense of Discovery"]. All About Jazz.</ref> [[Frank Hewitt]],<ref>Conrad, Thomas (June 2005). [http://jazztimes.com/articles/15726-frank-hewitt-never-stop-playing "Frank Hewitt: Never Stop Playing"]. ''JazzTimes''.</ref> and [[Hasaan Ibn Ali]].<ref name="ReferenceA">"The Max Roach Trio Featuring the Legendary Hasaan". [Liner notes]. Atlantic Records.</ref> Hawkins said in 2013 that Hope was important because he had a highly individual style but does not have the iconic status of pianists such as Monk.<ref name="AAJ1" /> Modern jazz guitarist [[Kurt Rosenwinkel]] has mentioned Hope's rhythms, phrasing, and compositions as influences.<ref>Ouellette, Dan (July 2013). "Kurt Rosenwinkel: Dreamer". ''Down Beat''. Volume 80/7. p. 29.</ref>

Bertha Hope has released albums dedicated to her former husband's compositions. She and her later husband, bassist [[Walter Booker]], created a band named "Elmollenium" in 1999,<ref name="millennium">Scott, Ron (March 21, 2002). "Bertha Hope's Quartet Set for Brooklyn". ''New York Amsterdam News''. p. 23.</ref> which played Elmo's compositions.<ref>Tunzi, Kristina (January 6, 2007). "Deaths: Walter Booker". ''Billboard''. Volume 119/1. p. 65.</ref> She transcribed recordings to recreate his arrangements, following an apartment fire that destroyed most of the original manuscripts.<ref name="millennium" /> In September 2016, Lyman Place in the Bronx was co-named "Elmo Hope Way – Jazz Pioneer" in honor of the pianist.<ref>Burford, Corinna (September 16, 2016) [http://bronxink.org/2016/09/16/27208-celebrating-jazz-legend-elmo-hope-on-the-block-where-he-lived/ "Celebrating Jazz Legend Elmo Hope on the Block Where He Lived"]. The Bronx Ink.</ref><ref>[http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2016/sep/16/hope-way-green-film-dee-dee-bridgewater-sistas/ "Jazz Notes: Hope Way, Green Film, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Sistas'"] (September 16, 2016). ''New York Amsterdam News''.</ref>

Several critics have advocated for a reassessment of Hope's career. One is Chuck Berg, writing for ''Down Beat'' in 1980, who attributed the ignoring of Hope by most jazz fans and critics largely to the uniqueness of his style, which differed from that prevalent in jazz generally and in bebop in particular.<ref name="Berg">Berg, Chuck (March 1980). "Last Sessions/Hope from Rikers Island". ''Down Beat''. Volume 47/3. p. 44.</ref> Berg contrasted the "aggressive assertiveness, massive outpourings of raw energy and displays of technical athleticism" that, he argued, are valued in jazz, with Hope's more nuanced and intellectual approach, and suggested that the expansion of what is accepted in jazz since his death meant that his career should be re-evaluated.<ref name="Berg" /> Seven years later, Palmer wrote on Hope and fellow pianist [[Herbie Nichols]]: "they were practically categorized out of existence. Dismissed as second-stringers and copyists when they were both prolifically creative and highly original, they suffered a neglect that is only now beginning to be dispelled in the case of Nichols, and that still continues in the case of Hope."<ref name="Palmer">Palmer, Robert (November 22, 1987). "Jazz Injustice: Genius in the Shadows". ''The New York Times''. p. H29.</ref> In 2010, ''The Penguin Jazz Guide'' observed that, "Like many of his piano generation, [... Hope's] work is only now being properly studied and appreciated."<ref name="Penguin" />

Pianist [[Hasaan Ibn Ali]] said of Hope, "He was one of the foremost great ones to offer such a large dose for the sickness of music.  And upon his ideals, and knowing help was needed, he gave to companions [[Thelonious Monk]] and [[Bud Powell]] and many others.... [D]uring this time, so much being produced, so much being brought forth by the musicians, still he being the actual cause."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Tenor saxophonist [[Johnny Griffin]] called Hope "the real genius of the piano."<ref name="Dawkins">{{cite journal|author=Dawkins, Arthur|title="An Interview with Philly Joe Jones [Transcript]" (1986); W.A. Brower, interviewer|date=June 10, 1985|page=23|url=http://dh.howard.edu/hujohp_transcripts/5|journal=Transcripts|access-date=January 22, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Junio5b10&t=33m46s  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/e-Junio5b10 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=An Interview with Legendary Jazz Musician Philly Joe Jones |publisher=[[YouTube]]|access-date=January 22, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Discography==
===As leader===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Year recorded
!Title
!Label
!Personnel/Notes
|-
|1953
|''[[Trio and Quintet|Elmo Hope Trio]]''
|[[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]]
|Trio, with [[Percy Heath]] (bass), [[Philly Joe Jones]] (drums)
|-
|1954
|''[[Trio and Quintet|Elmo Hope Quintet, Volume 2]]''
|[[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]]
|Quintet, with [[Charles Freeman Lee]] (trumpet), [[Frank Foster (jazz musician)|Frank Foster]] (tenor sax), [[Percy Heath]] (bass), [[Art Blakey]] (drums)
|-
|1955
|''[[Meditations (Elmo Hope album)|Meditations]]''
|[[Prestige Records|Prestige]]
|Trio, with [[John Ore]] (bass), [[Willie Jones (drummer)|Willie Jones]] (drums)
|-
|1955
|''[[Hope Meets Foster]]''
|[[Prestige Records|Prestige]]
|Quartet, with Frank Foster (tenor sax), [[John Ore]] (bass), [[Art Taylor]] (drums); quintet on some tracks, with [[Charles Freeman Lee]] (trumpet) added
|-
|1956
|''[[Informal Jazz]]'' 
|[[Prestige Records|Prestige]]
|Sextet, with [[Donald Byrd]] (trumpet), [[John Coltrane]] and [[Hank Mobley]] (tenor sax), [[Paul Chambers]] (bass), [[Philly Joe Jones]] (drums)
|-
|1957
|''[[Trio and Quintet|The Elmo Hope Quintet Featuring Harold Land]]''
|[[Pacific Jazz Records|Pacific]]
|Quintet, with [[Stu Williamson]] (trumpet), [[Harold Land]] (tenor sax), [[Leroy Vinnegar]] (bass), [[Frank Butler (musician)|Frank Butler]] (drums)
|-
|1959
|''[[Elmo Hope Trio]]''
|Hifijazz
|Trio, with Jimmy Bond (bass), [[Frank Butler (musician)|Frank Butler]] (drums)
|-
|1961
|''[[Here's Hope!]]''
|Celebrity
|Trio, with [[Paul Chambers]] (bass), [[Philly Joe Jones]] (drums)
|-
|1961
|''[[High Hope!]]''
|Beacon
|Trio, with [[Paul Chambers]] and [[Butch Warren]] (bass; separately), [[Philly Joe Jones]] and [[Granville T. Hogan]] (drums; separately) 
|-
|1961
|''[[Homecoming!]]''
|[[Riverside Records|Riverside]]
|Sextet, with [[Blue Mitchell]] (trumpet), Frank Foster and [[Jimmy Heath]] (tenor sax), [[Percy Heath]] (bass), [[Philly Joe Jones]] (drums); some tracks trio, with Percy Heath and Jones
|-
|1961
|''[[Hope-Full]]''
|[[Riverside Records|Riverside]]
|Solo piano; some tracks are duo, with [[Bertha Hope]] (piano)
|-
|1963
|''[[Sounds from Rikers Island]]''
|[[Audio Fidelity Records|Audio Fidelity]]
|Sextet on most tracks, with Lawrence Jackson (trumpet), [[John Gilmore (musician)|John Gilmore]] (tenor sax), Freddie Douglas (soprano sax), [[Ronnie Boykins]] (bass), [[Philly Joe Jones]] (drums); [[Earl Coleman (singer)|Earl Coleman]] and Marcelle Daniels (vocals; separately) on some tracks
|-
|1966
|''[[The Final Sessions|Last Sessions – Volume One]]'' 
|[[Inner City Records|Inner City]]
|Trio, with John Ore (bass), [[Philly Joe Jones]] and [[Clifford Jarvis]] (drums; separately); released 1977
|-
|1966
|''[[The Final Sessions|Last Sessions – Volume Two]]'' 
|[[Inner City Records|Inner City]]
|Details as ''Last Sessions – Volume One''
|}

===As sideman===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Year recorded
!Leader
!Title
!Label
|-
|1953
|{{sortname|Lou|Donaldson}} and [[Clifford Brown]]
|''[[Memorial Album (Clifford Brown album)|New Faces New Sounds]]''
|[[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]]
|-
|1953
|{{sortname|Lou|Donaldson}} and [[Clifford Brown]]
|''[[Memorial Album (Clifford Brown album)|Alternate Takes]]''
|[[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]]
|-
|1954
|{{sortname|Lou|Donaldson}}
|''Lou Donaldson Sextet, Vol. 2''
|[[Blue Note Records|Blue Note]]
|-
|1954
|{{sortname|Sonny|Rollins}}
|''[[Moving Out (album)|Moving Out]]''
|[[Prestige Records|Prestige]]
|-
|1956
|{{sortname|Jackie|McLean}}
|''[[Lights Out!]]''
|[[Prestige Records|Prestige]]
|-
|1958
|{{sortname|Curtis|Counce}}
|''[[Exploring the Future]]''
|Dooto
|-
|1958
|{{sortname|Curtis|Counce}}
|''[[Sonority (album)|Sonority]]''
|[[Contemporary Records|Contemporary]]
|-
|1958
||{{sortname|Harold|Land}}
|''Jazz at The Cellar 1958''
|Lone Hill Jazz
|-
|1959
|{{sortname|Harold|Land}}
|''[[The Fox (Harold Land album)|The Fox]]''
|Hifijazz
|}

Sources:<ref name="discog" /><ref>[http://www.jazzdisco.org/elmo-hope/ "Elmo Hope Discography Project"]. jazzdisco. Retrieved January 12, 2014.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin}}

*{{cite news
| title = Another Youth Shot by Policeman
| newspaper = New York Amsterdam News
| date = November 30, 1940
| ref = {{sfnref|New York Amsterdam News|1940}} 
}}

*{{cite news
| title = Policeman Faces Lawsuit for Shooting Harlem Boy
| newspaper = New York Amsterdam News
| date = January 18, 1941
| ref = {{sfnref|New York Amsterdam News|1941}}
}}

*{{cite book
|title=The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz
|first1=Leonard
|last1=Feather
|first2=Ira
|last2=Gitler
|author-link=Leonard Feather
|author2-link=Ira Gitler
|publisher=Oxford University Press
|year=1999
|isbn=978-0-19-507418-5
|ref={{sfnref|Feather; Gitler|1999}}
|url-access=registration
|url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalency00feat
}}
 
*{{cite book
|title=Thelonious Monk – The Life and Times of an American Original
|first=Robin
|last=Kelley
|publisher=Simon & Schuster
|year=2008
|isbn=978-0-684-83190-9
|url-access=registration
|url=https://archive.org/details/theloniousmonkli0000kell
}}

*{{cite book
|title= Cookin': Hard Bop and Soul Jazz
|first= Kenny
|last= Mathieson
|publisher= Canongate
|year= 2012 
|orig-year= 2002
|isbn= 978-0-85786-620-2
}}

*{{cite book
|title= Hard Bop: Jazz and Black Music, 1955–1965
|first= David
|last= Rosenthal
|publisher= Oxford University Press
|year= 1993
|isbn= 978-0-19-508556-3
}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150222114753/http://www.jazzscript.co.uk/extra/art.hope.htm "...the legend of St Elmo"]}}. Dennis Harrison's assessment of Hope's career.
* [https://attictoys.com/elmo-hope-compositions/ List of Hope's compositions].
* [http://indianapublicmedia.org/nightlights/hope-lives-portrait-elmo-hope/ Public radio broadcast on Hope].

== See also ==
{{Portal|Jazz}}
* [[Chamber jazz]]
* [[List of cool jazz and West Coast jazz musicians]]
* [[List of jazz genres]]

{{Elmo Hope}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Good article}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hope, Elmo}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:1967 deaths]]
[[Category:American jazz pianists]]
[[Category:American male jazz pianists]]
[[Category:Audio Fidelity Records artists]]
[[Category:Bebop pianists]]
[[Category:Blue Note Records artists]]
[[Category:Hard bop pianists]]
[[Category:Inner City Records artists]]
[[Category:American male jazz composers]]
[[Category:Jazz musicians from New York City]]
[[Category:Prestige Records artists]]
[[Category:Riverside Records artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American pianists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American jazz composers]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:African Americans in World War II]]
[[Category:African-American United States Army personnel]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American musicians]]
[[Category:People from Morrisania, Bronx]]
[[Category:People from East Harlem]]