Claude Driskett Hopkins (August 24, 1903 – February 19, 1984) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

stride pianist and bandleader.

Biography

Claude Hopkins was born in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, United States. Historians differ in respect of the actual date of his birth. His parents were on the faculty of

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

. A talented stride piano player and arranger, he left home at the age of 21 to become a sideman with the Wilbur Sweatman Orchestra, but stayed less than a year. In 1925, he left for Europe as the musical director of The Revue Negre which starred

Josephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald; naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted Fran ...

with

Sidney Bechet Sidney Bechet (May 14, 1897 – May 14, 1959) was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer. He was one of the first important soloists in jazz, and first recorded several months before trumpeter Louis Armstrong. His erratic tempe ...

in the band. He returned to the US in 1927 where, based in Washington D.C., he toured the

TOBA Toba may refer to: Languages * Toba Sur language, spoken in South America * Batak Toba, spoken in Indonesia People * Toba people, indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco in South America * Toba Batak people, a sub-ethnic group of Batak people from N ...

circuit with The Ginger Snaps Revue before heading once again for New York City where he took over the band of Charlie Skeets. At this time (1932–36), he led a Harlem band employing jazz musicians such as Edmond Hall,

Jabbo Smith Jabbo Smith (born Cladys Smith; December 24, 1908 – January 16, 1991) was an American jazz musician, known for his virtuoso playing on the trumpet. Biography Smith was born in Pembroke, Georgia, United States. At the age of six he went into ...

and Vic Dickenson (although his records were arranged to feature his piano more than his band). This was his most successful period, with long residencies at the

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Sa ...

and Roseland ballrooms and at the

Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...

. In 1937, he took his band on the road with a great deal of success. The high-pitched vocals of Orlando Roberson (Orlando Herbert Roberson 1909–1977) were a feature of the band's work. It included Ovie Alston, Fernando Arbello,

Shirley Clay Shirley Clay (died February 7, 1951) was an American jazz trumpeter. Clay gained his early start in St. Louis, Missouri while a teenager, about 1920. He toured with John Williams's Synco Jazzers early in the decade and then moved to Chicago, whe ...

, Vic Dickenson, Edmond Hall, Arville Harris, Pete Jacobs, Sylvester Lewis, Ben Smith, and Jabbo Smith. He broke up the band in 1940 and used his arranging skills while working for several non-jazz band leaders and for CBS. In 1948/9 he led a "novelty" band briefly but took a jazz band into The Cafe Society in 1950. From 1951 until his death, he remained in New York City, working mostly as a sideman with other

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ...

bands at festivals, New York clubs, and recording. He died on February 19, 1984.

Discography

As leader

* ''Music of the Early Jazz Dances'' (20th Fox, 1958) * '' Yes Indeed!'' with

Buddy Tate George Holmes "Buddy" Tate (February 22, 1913 – February 10, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist. Biography Tate was born in Sherman, Texas, United States, and first played the alto saxophone. According to the website All A ...

and Emmett Berry (Swingville, 1960) * '' Let's Jam'' with Buddy Tate and Joe Thomas (Swingville, 1961) * '' Swing Time!'' with

Budd Johnson Albert J. "Budd" Johnson III (December 14, 1910 – October 20, 1984) was an American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist who worked extensively with, among others, Ben Webster, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke ...

and Vic Dickenson (Swingville, 1963) * ''The Jazz Giants'' with Wild Bill Davison,

Buzzy Drootin Benjamin "Buzzy" Drootin (April 22, 1920 – May 21, 2000) was an American jazz drummer. Career Drootin was born near Kyiv, Ukraine, and moved to Boston, Massachusetts, United States, with his family when he was five. His father played the ...

Herb Hall Herbert L. Hall (March 28, 1907 – March 5, 1996) was an American jazz clarinetist and alto saxophonist. Early life Hall was born in Reserve, Louisiana, the brother of Edmond Hall and the son of clarinetist Edward Hall. Career Hall bega ...

, Benny Morton and Arvell Shaw (Sackville, 1968) * ''Soliloquy'' (Sackville, 1972) * ''Crazy Fingers'' (Chiaroscuro, 1973) * ''Safari Stomp'' (Black and Blue, 1974) * ''Jazz Piano Masters: Live at the New School'' (Chiaroscuro, 1977)

As sideman

With Red Allen * ''Jazz at the Metropole Cafe'' with Cozy Cole, Charlie Shavers (Bethlehem, 1955) * ''At Newport'' with Kid Ory, Jack Teagarden (Verve, 1957) With Cozy Cole * ''After Hours'' with Jimmy McPartland (Grand Award, 1956) * ''Cozy Cole and His Big Seven'' (Grand Award, 1958 * ''Caravan'' (Grand Award, 1959) * ''Cozy Cole and Other All-Time Jazz Stars'' (Colortone, 1959) With

Bud Freeman Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 – March 15, 1991) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing tenor saxophone, but also the clarinet. Biography In 1922, Freeman and some friends from high sc ...

*'' The Bud Freeman All-Stars featuring Shorty Baker'' (Swingville, 1960) With

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

* ''

Things Ain't What They Used to Be "Things Ain't What They Used to Be" is a 1942 jazz standard with music by Mercer Ellington and lyrics by Ted Persons. Background In 1941 there was a strike against the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, of which Duke Ellington ...

'' (Swingville, 1961) * ''Years Ago'' (Prestige, 1964) * ''Dear Old Southland'' (Membran, 2005) With Lonnie Johnson *'' Blues by Lonnie Johnson'' (Bluesville, 1960) With

Ma Rainey Gertrude "Ma" Rainey ( Pridgett; April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939) was an American blues singer and influential early blues recording artist. Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of s ...

* ''Blame It on the Blues'' (Milestone, 1969)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Claude 1903 births 1984 deaths American jazz bandleaders American jazz pianists American male pianists Big band bandleaders Stride pianists Swing pianists Brunswick Records artists Columbia Records artists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 20th-century American pianists Sackville Records artists Black & Blue Records artists