A pioneering bebop and hard bop pianist and composer, Elmo Hope had a strong career as a sideman and as a leader, although his associations with more prominent figures often prevented him from becoming a star in his own right. Born on June 27, 1923, in New York City, Hope experienced several career disruptions in his brief life, the first coming when he was shot by police at age 17. He also departed to join the army during World War II, after which he eased back into music by playing with R&B acts before fully committing to jazz.
Hope emerged on the jazz scene in the early 1950s. His childhood friend, jazz pianist Bud Powell, helped him find his footing, as did their mutual friend Thelonious Monk. Hope participated in a 1953 session led by Clifford Brown and Lou Donaldson that is referred to as one of the first hard bop recordings. That same year, Hope issued his first album as a leader, The Elmo Hope Trio, on Blue Note. His association with Blue Note lasted for only one more album, but his work on a Sonny Rollins session in 1954 earned him a deal with Prestige Records, where he released three albums. One of these, 1956’s Informal Jazz, featured John Coltrane on tenor saxophone.
Following a stint touring with Chet Baker, Hope moved to Los Angeles, motivated by being banned from performing in New York City clubs due to his ongoing drug problems. In L.A., he collaborated with saxophonist Harold Land, and appeared on Land’s acclaimed 1960 album The Fox. By the time Hope returned to New York in the early ‘60s, his addictions had worsened and his output slowed. He died of heart failure on May 19, 1967, at the age of 43. Over the intervening decades, the case for reassessing Hope’s career and increasing his esteem in the history of bebop and hard bop has strengthened.
