Bertha Hope - Elmo's Fire (1991 steeplechase) - LP near mint condition.

Bertha Hope biography by Scott Yanow:

Although she recorded three piano duets with her husband Elmo Hope in 1961, few knew that Bertha Hope was a talented pianist until her 1992 Minor Music release Between Two Kings. She grew up in California, started studying classical piano when she was three, became interested in jazz through the playing of Bud Powell, and in the late '50s worked in Los Angeles clubs with a trio. Bertha was married to Elmo Hope from 1960 up until his death in 1967, but put her own career on hold until emerging in the early '90s.
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Bertha Hope Elmo's Fire (1991 steeplechase)

Eddie Henderson -tp; Junior Cook -ts; Bertha Hope -p; Walter Booker -b; Leroy Williams -d; Dave Riekenberg -ts (0n track 7 only).

Recorded January 1991 in Copenhagen
Steeplechase SCCD31289

1 LOW TIDE 7.00
2 MIRROR-MIND ROSE 2.18
3 BAI TAI BLUES 9.22
4 FOR DUKE AND CANNON 9.20
5 LUNA NEGRA 7.22
6 ELMO'S FIRE 8.54
7 BELLAROSA 12.04


Review by Ken Dryden

Bertha Hope was married to pianist Elmo Hope for just seven years prior to his death in 1967, but she only recorded a few piano duets with him until getting back into the studio in the early 1990s. On this session, she proves herself to a more than capable pianist, composer and arranger as she leads a strong quintet featuring trumpeter Eddie Henderson, tenor saxophonist Junior Cook (with Dave Riekenberg taking over on Bellarosa), bassist Walter Booker and drummer Leroy Williams. Her snappy Bai Tai Blues stands up against anything her late husband recorded during his career, while there is plenty of blowing space for Cook and Henderson. The lovely ballad tribute For Duke and Cannon, composed by Sonny Fortune, is a subtle feature for Hope with Booker's tasty bass and Williams' crisp brushwork. She offers effective interpretations of her late husband's works, especially the sauntering Bellarosa and the breezy Elmo's Fire, which showcases the leader extensively. Sadly there are no liner notes to give more background about the leader and the making of this session. Bertha Hope, a superb talent worthy of wider recognition in her own right, should be a regular visitor to the recording studio.