>Hier stellt sich dem amerikanischen Publikum ein brillanter, junger, deutscher Pianist vor, dessen swing-orientiertes und vom Stride inspiriertes Klavierspiel seine Wurzeln sowohl bei Earl 'Fatha' Hines, Teddy Wilson und Jess Stacy, wie bei den Meistern des Harlem Pianos wie James P. Johnson, Fats Waller und Willie 'The Lion' Smith findet. Dan Barrett begeistert sich: 'Hopkins ist einer der talentiertesten jungen Klavierspieler, die ich je gehört habe. Ich flippte geradezu aus, als ich ihn zum ersten Mal hörte, denn er ist erst Ende zwanzig und obwohl sein Spiel das Studium der Begründer des Jazzpianos widerspiegelt, bringt er seine eigenen Ideen ein.'<
Arbors Records

>Introducing to American audiences a brilliant young German pianist, Chris Hopkins, whose swing-oriented and stride-inspired piano playing finds ist roots in Earl 'Fatha' Hines, Teddy Wilson and Jess Stacy, as well as in the stridemasters of Harlem, James P. Johnson, Fats Waller and Willie 'The Lion' Smith. 'Chris Hopkins', Dan Barrett enthuses, 'is one of the most talented young piano players I´ve heard. I just flipped when I first heard him because he´s not yet out of his twenties and, although his playing reflects his study of the men who created jazz (p) he brings his own ideas to the table.'<
Arbors Records

>This master class in early jazz piano styles is presented by the young Chris Hopkins, a New Jersey-born and German-bred pianist who started out on harpsichord as a child but soon discovered the virtuoso jazz styles of such early greats as Earl Hines, Fats Waller, Teddy Wilson, and stride colossi James P. Johnson and Willie 'The Lion' Smith. It's the influence of those stride masters that comes across most clearly in Hopkins' own playing, although he assimilates them into a personal style that combines the athletic vigor of their approaches with an elegance and gentle touch. His inventiveness and structural insight cannot be faulted -- his stride interpolations on 'Cheek to Cheek' and his tribute to jazz composer Jess Stacy both spring from a deep intimacy with this repertoire. And when he puts his brain and hands to work on compositions by Duke Ellington (in particular the surpassingly elegant 'Dancers in Love'), the effect is especially thrilling. Highly recommended.<
Rick Anderson

>Chris Hopkins, einer der neuen Künstler, der altes mit eigenem Stil erfrischt und seine persöhnliche Note auf eine heitere Weise präsentieren kann. Die CD bietet prima Jazz!<
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