Raible/Gradischnig Quintet tour offers new Hope
Mike Flynn
Friday, February 7, 2020
The musical legacy of highly-respected, but little-known, US pianist/composer Elmo Hope is celebrated by a top-notch European/UK quintet during a coming series of shows
Led by Munich-based pianist Claus Raible and Austrian tenorist Herwig Gradischnig, the group, also featuring trumpeter Steve Fishwick, bassist Giorgos Antoniou and drummer Matt Home, venture out on an eight-date spring tour to perform their interpretations of Hope’s challenging and sophisticated hard-bop originals.
Hope died aged 43 in 1967 after a fleeting but influential career that saw him record and perform with the likes of John Coltrane, Lou Donaldson and Jackie McLean, before succumbing to health problems brought on by many years of drug use.
The Raible/Gradischnig Quintet play music from their two albums Searchin’ for Hope and Mo Is On, The Music Of Elmo Hope Vol.2 on the following dates: Herts Jazz, The Maltings, St. Albans (9 Feb); Kansas Smitty’s Bar, Broadway Market, London (11 Feb); Mill Hill Jazz Club, London (12 Feb); Future Inns, Bristol (13 Feb); The Crypt, Camberwell, London (14 Feb); Peggy’s Skylight, Nottingham (15 Feb); Ipswich Jazz Club, California Club, Ipswich (16 Feb) and Late Show, Ronnie Scott’s, London (17 Feb).