Born and raised in Los Angeles, during the 1960’s Bertha along with her late husband, legendary pianist Elmo Hope, collaborated on some fine jazz music, some of which was first published as recently as 2000. She has worked extensively over the years to transcribe many of the Elmo Hope compositions so that they can be performed and in addition, pay tribute to one of “be-bop’s†underrated contributors. To that end, Bertha has formed a working group called ELMOllennium,†which features, Walter Booker (bs), Leroy Williams (dr), Virgil Jones (tr), Charles Davis (ts), Roni Ben-Hur (g), Amy London (guest vocalist).
For a number of years Bertha Hope was an artist-in-residence under the auspices of “The New Jersey State Council on the Arts.†Through that program, she performed in New Jersey state-wide workshops. Some of the musicians with whom she performed during that period were Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Foster, Nat Adderley and Philly Joe Jones.Ms. Hope is also the leader of “The Bertha Hope Trio,†which has toured extensively throughout Japan. She is a composer and arranger with several recordings under her own name: “In Search of Hope†and “Elmo’s Fire†(Steeplechase); “Between Two Kings†(Minor Records) and her latest on the Reservoir label, “Nothin’ But Love.â€Bertha Hope holds a B.A. in Early Childhood Education. She currently teaches an advanced jazz ensemble at The Lucy Moses School, and an Introduction to Jazz Program at Washington Irving H.S. which is sponsored by Bette Midler. Her legacy continues as her children carry the musical torch.
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