Elmo Hope Trio

What style of piano does Elmo Hope play? It would be easy to answer “The same as Bud Powell,” but this would not do justice to a musician who, while coming along the same route as Bud for so many years, is now ploughing a separate path for himself, though in a similar general neighborhood. His original material, though it has the intense, rapt quality of Bud’s, remains personal, whether it be the relatively serene approach of Happy Hour or the minor Moroccan mood of Stars Over Marakech. When you hear Elmo Hope, your first reaction will quite possibly be “Well, where has he been all these years?” And the fact is that while Elmo was giving recitals at the age of 14 and even won medals during his teen-aged concertizing, he has never, until now, achieved much more than local recognition. If you will pardon the pun, this might be the time to say that there is new hope for Elmo.