JC Hopkins is all set to make it big. Or,
well, at least "biggish."
The earnest Fort Greene resident and his Biggish Band featuring
Queen Esther, just released their debut album, "Underneath
a Brooklyn Moon," on Tigerlily Records. At the Relish diner
in Williamsburg, he opened up about this new album, his career,
and what he loves so much about this borough.
"Underneath a Brooklyn Moon," the band’s debut album,
was recorded last fall when bandleader, pianist, composer and
occasional crooner Hopkins was fresh from collaborating with
Norah Jones. It revolves around the story of a young couple that
moves across the United States to settle in a new, unfamiliar
and sometimes tough city. Despite their hardships, the two maintain
a positive outlook in anticipation of better times.
"It’s about a couple who has love and passion but not material
things," Hopkins told GO Brooklyn. "The songs, though,
have an overall feeling of hope."
This story, as cinematic as it sounds, draws a great deal from
Hopkins’ real life experience of moving to Brooklyn from San
Francisco in 1999. As a youngster, Hopkins first crossed paths
with jazz music at home, where his father was constantly blasting
that ’bop in his living room. As he grew older, he began to delve
into songwriting and even taught himself how to play piano. When
Hopkins decided that he wanted to pursue this love for jazz music,
he said that moving to New York was the way to go. When he arrived,
he knew that Fort Greene was the place to settle down.
"When I got here, I knew that I loved it instantly. But
it was really hard," said Hopkins. He often had to work
graveyard shifts in Manhattan clubs and lounges playing piano,
sometimes even playing anonymously.
Asked why he decided to create an album that in many ways pays
tribute to Brooklyn, Hopkins said that living here was just an
inspiration.
"The best scientists, playwrights, musicians, whatever,
all came out of Brooklyn," said Hopkins. "There’s such
history here and I tapped into that muse of Whitman and Arthur
Miller, that muse of historical legacy."
Hopkins plays piano and leads his 13 Biggish Band members. (Because
14 members make up an official big band, Hopkins describes his
band as "biggish.") The band, said Hopkins, isn’t so
easy to describe and has a sound that’s tough to nail down.
"It may not be revolutionary but it’s very new and fresh,"
he said. The band jumps from swing to hard bop to traditional
American Songbook-style tunes, all amounting to an infectious,
cool and spirited sound. With this swinging mix-up of styles,
it’s no wonder they once earned the humorous moniker, "Champagne
Fountain of Joy."
In its earlier stages, The Biggish Band rotated several singers
before JC and company invited Queen Esther to become their mainstay.
Jones, who collaborated with Hopkins on her debut "Come
Home With Me," sang for the Biggish Band but her solo career
escalated and scheduling conflicts prevented the two from finishing
the work they had begun. Similarly, Madeline Peyroux, who co-wrote
four songs on "Brooklyn Moon," was set to release her
album "Careless Love" at the time, and couldn’t sing
full time either.
The third vocalist was Queen Esther, a multi-faceted performer
whose commanding and expert presence on the stage makes her an
appealing diva for the cool intellectual type. You may have seen
her singing and dancing in the musical, "Harlem Song,"
at the Apollo Theater in 2002 or starring in her own one-woman
autobiographical cabaret show, "Queen Esther: Unemployed
Superstar" at Joe’s Pub in 2000.
"She just fit the best," Hopkins said of her joining
the band.
With a voice reminiscent of Betty Carter and Dinah Washington,
she was the perfect complement to what Hopkins describes as the
band’s, "juggernaut of sound." Proof that the third
time is a charm, Esther’s commanding voice on record fits seamlessly
alongside the band when they’re at their most spirited and especially,
at their most subdued.
Part of what makes the band function so well, said Hopkins, is
each member’s enthusiasm and ability to work together in such
a huge collective. There is "true camaraderie" amongst
the 13 of them. The charisma between composer and musician is
an essential component to the band’s allure, and it shows on
stage. Seeing the Biggish Band live is a true jazz experience.
If it’s a Duke Ellington arrangement or one of their own smooth
songs, as the show rolls on, the songs grow and expand in a live
setting, filling the room with their joy and radiance. Their
cool vibrancy is practically bursting at the seams.
The band has had successful runs in Manhattan’s Slipper Room
and the Knitting Factory in TriBeCa, but other than the Five
Spot Supper Club in Clinton Hill, hasn’t been able to groove
much in Brooklyn yet. Check out www.jchopkins.com for the band’s
upcoming performances.
"It really is a party on the stage," said Hopkins about
their live show. And you and your friends are all invited, how
ever "biggish" your crowd may be.
"Underneath a Brooklyn Moon"
by the JC Hopkins Biggish Band featuring Queen Esther (Tigerlily
Records, $12) is available at www.towerrecords.com, www.amazon.com,
www.cdbaby.com or by calling (800) 448-6369.
