Ricky Hopkins and The Urban Band

About Me

Ricky Hopkins began playing tenor saxophone at the age of 11. Known for his trademark sound and highly energetic solos, Hopkins attended the world renowned Hamilton High School Academy of Music in 1999 and was a member of its award winning jazz ensembles. He performed at the prestigious Monterey Jazz Festival in 2002 and 2003, taking top soloist honors in 2003. In 2004, Hopkins was awarded the prestigious Downbeat Magazine Student Award and was ranked as the best young tenor saxophonist of all that were polled. In October 2005, Hopkins was severly beaten in a hate crime. The seriousness of the injuries forced him to stop performing. However, his desire to play brought him back to the stage in December of 2005, and Hopkins picked up his horn just days before a school concert. While most would consider such a tragedy as an end of a career, Hopkins saw the event as a new start to his career. "I would say that was the rebirth of my music career. Although I'm not the same player I was before, I think it inspired me to play music that was a lot more meaningful." Currently, Hopkins is perfoming with three bands, including Sixstep, Everything That Exists, and his own band, The Urban Band. Ricky has performed with: Billy Ray Cyrus, jazz legend Ernie Andrews, singer Barbara Morrison, Jose Rizo's Latin Jazz All Star Big Band, famed trumpeter Dr. Bobby Rodriguez, drum legend Sherman Ferguson, and pianist Kei Akagi (Miles Davis's last keyboardist). Some of Ricky's influences include John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Joshua Redman, and Chris Potter.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 11/09/2006
Band Website: www.rickyhopkins.com
Band Members: Ricky Hopkins-Tenor, Alto, and Soprano Saxophones Tom McNalley-Guitar Anthony Shadduck-Acoustic and Electric Bass Sam Webster-DrumsThe Ed Show 01: The Ricky Hopkins Quartet plays some jazz.

Influences: John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Roy Hargrove, Michael Brecker, Charlie Hunter, Miles Davis, Eric Dolphy.
Sounds Like: Nothing else you've ever heard of before.
Record Label: none

My Blog

Twitter!

Ricky is now on Twitter.Follow him here:www.twitter.com/rickyhopkins1
Posted by on Mon, 25 May 2009 17:30:00 GMT

My First Album

Hey All, So I'm finally starting to lay the foundations for my first album. This is gonna be a very interesting project. I don't want to do the typical jazz musician thing with an album full of standa...
Posted by on Sat, 26 Jan 2008 19:52:00 GMT

The New Year

Well here it is...2008. It's been a very interesting year musically. We had an amazing show at The Jazz Bakery and we'll be performing there again sometime in early March with Grammy Nominated Trumpet...
Posted by on Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:21:00 GMT

The New Year

ON MYSPACE

Check out The Ed Show. I did a taping and it is now available viewing. I was interviewed and the set was recorded so you can check out the show! Go to:www.myspace.com/theedshowClick on Video and watch...
Posted by on Sat, 13 Oct 2007 15:09:00 GMT

New music is coming!!

I've been so busy on my website I haven't really focused on getting the myspace page up to par. Working on it...should be good in a few days. In the meantime, visit my website! www.rickyhopkins.com &n...
Posted by on Mon, 10 Sep 2007 02:11:00 GMT

Thank you all!

Just wanted to take the time out to say thank you for supporting my band. We love playing for you all. Get excited because the next few shows are going to be TIGHT.Peace and Love,Ricky
Posted by on Wed, 18 Jul 2007 19:55:00 GMT