Joe Hopkins
Joe Hopkins- Clarinet
Joe has been playing jazz clarinet since the 9th grade . He played
with many groups in the Fort Worth , Dallas area where he grew up. He had
his own jazz band while at Reed College in Portland. He joined IBM in 1962 and
retired in 1993. He continued to play while employed by IBM. He worked with the
Churchill Street Jazz Band in Northern California for ten years (1980's)
and played most of the Jazz Festivals on the west coast. After moving to Arizona
in 1990 he immediately began to play jazz in the Phoenix area. He was a member
of the Desert City Six for 13 years. In the last 10 years he has also
played with the Off the Wall Over the Hill Gang, Dr. Sasparilla and his Red
Hot Jazz Band, Cat's n' Jammers, Cell Block Seven from Lodi, California and
the BoonDockers from Northern California. He currently leads three bands
of his own: The Joe Hopkins Quartet and the 52nd Street Jazz Band
which plays Chicago/New York Style Jazz ala Eddie Condon groups. In addition Joe
leads the Moldy Fig Jazz Band which plays authentic New Orleans style
Dixieland. Joe is currently Director on the board of
the American Federation of Jazz Societies and a member of the American
Federation of Musicians, local 586 in addition to being the Vice-President and
musical director of the AZ Classic Jazz Society.
(480) 396-6798 Cell Phone:
602-810-5888
Email:
jazzclarinet@cox.net
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The
52nd Street Jazz Band
plays "Chicago Style" jazz which is often applied to the sound of Chicagoans as
Eddie Condon, Muggsy Spanier and Bud Freeman. The rhythm sections of these bands
substitute the string bass for the tuba and the guitar for the banjo. Musically
we play in more of a swing-style, 4-to-the-bar manner rather than the 2-beat
style of many dixieland bands. The New Orleans preference for the ensemble sound
is deemphasized in favor of solos. This style is also faster paced , resembling
the hustle-bustle of big city life. The 52nd Street Jazz Band plays a wide
variety of tunes, including most of those of more traditional jazz bands plus
many of the Great American Songbook selections from the 1930's by Gershwin,
Kern, Porter, and Berlin. Non-Chicagoans such as Wild Bill Davidson, Pee Wee
Russell, Jack Teagarden, and Bobby Hackett as well as Louis Armstrong (after the
1920's) are often thought of as playing in this style. This style became wildly
popular in New York in the 30's and 40's and was played in many jazz clubs on
52nd Street (hence the name of my band, the 52nd Street Jazz Band.
Gary Church, Caesar Rob, Joe Hopkins, Danny Shannon.
The quartet often plays for dances, jazz clubs, weddings, church meetings,
singles groups, lindy hoppers, grand openings, banks and jazz societies.
We are currently playing every Sunday evening from 6:00 to 10:00 pm at "Chances
Are"...a restaurant/bar with two dance floors in Scottsdale
Gary
Church, Joe Hopkins, Danny Shannon
Joe
Hopkins receiving the "Gentleman of Jazz" proclamation from the Chandler Mayor
at the 2006 AZ Classic Jazz Festival.
