March 11, 2011
To: Listings/Critics/Features
From: Jazz Promo Services
Following in the footsteps of Hoagy Carmichael, Irving Berlin and Mose Allison, Hopkins writes deceptively simple words and melodies that speak to something deeper, and more emotionally complex, with the potential to add a page to the great American Songbook. “Hopkins writes swinging material tailor made for a vacuum-tube radio,’ says the New Yorker. He is a Grammy nominated composer of wry, inventive tunes, covered by people like Norah Jones and Willie Nelson, and leader of one of the hippest little big bands in the country, the JC Hopkins Biggish Band. The Biggish Band has played host to a wide variety of legendary singers including Elvis Costello, Madeleine Peyroux, Martha Wainwright and their first front singer Norah Jones. ‘It’s a thrill to have singers of such a high caliber swinging with the band and singing your songs, doesn’t get any better than that,’ beams Hopkins. Nineteen year old Raven Page is the bands latest discovery, with an unforgettable voice that is cross between Dinah Washington and Norah Jones, and a presence that is unforgettable.
“Hopkins writes swinging material tailor made for a vacuum-tube radio, and it’s delivered with a timeless flair by the lead singer, Queen Esther.” — The New Yorker “The tunes here are all originals and the lyrical matter is timeless” — JazzWeek “…check them out, so you can say you saw them when they were merely biggish, as opposed to huge!” — Time Out New York “Some of the finest musicians in the city”—NY Times