JC Hopkins

The JC Hopkins Biggish Band ala Champagne Fountain of Joy was formed in the year 2000 (BB). Starting out as a loose conglomeration of poorly paid jazz musicians playing original compositions, backing strippers and female female impersonators at the infamous Slipper Room every Thursday Night, the band has since become a tightly knit swingin' machine. Original members include the trombone/plunger virtuoso J. Walter Hawkes, whose composition "Trouble in Tassle Town" is still a staple in the bands current repertoire, sans tassle artist, and progeny Norah Jones who went on to pursue a very successful career in lite-rock. Shortly after the demolition of the Twin Towers the band played a tribute to the prophetic pianist and composer Mose Allison at Joe's Pub which featured perfomances by Amy Allison, Queen Esther, Steven Bernstien, Norah Jones, Martha Wainwright, Babi Floyd and Madeleine Peyroux. Songs such as "Monsters of the Id" and "Everybody's Cryin' Mercy" seemed to sum up the situation in the country better than anything else. Madeleine fronted the band in those tumultuous days and composed with JC some of the songs that made up the Biggish Band's audio debut "Underneath a Brooklyn Moon" (2005 Tigerlily Records) After Ms. Peyroux's short tenure with the band the legendary, fabulous chauntuesse, Queen Esther, after appearing in the George C. Wolfe production of "Harlem Song", rejoined the band and sang lead on the cd to widespread critical acclaim. Featuring "a lineup of some the finest musicians in the city" (NY Times) including Vincent Chancey, Chuck MacKinnon, Liberty Ellman, Warren Smith, Claire Daly, James Zollar and Sunny Jain. The band continues to break new ground in originality and style with new Hopkins' material such as "Remember When", "Too Dumb To See" and Duke Ellington's Au Go Go classic "Blue Pepper". The fabulous Nicole Nelson, of the dynamic duo Dwight and Nicole, has since joined the Biggish bringing a new swinging prowess to the bandstand. She is without a doubt mindblowing. JC is working on an album of baroque rock, "Sad and Beautiful World" with the assistance of former members of the legendary band, The Band; Levon Helm and Garth Hudson and Martha Wainwright including songs "Walking Cane" and "Upside Down". JC was nominated for a Grammy for his song "Dreams Come True" as recorded by Willie Nelson and Norah Jones. A kids record that JC produced for John Lithgow, including performances by Maude Maggart and Madeleine Peyroux and fabulous arrangements by J.Walter Hawkes and Doug Weiselman, is a recent Grammy nominee for best childrens album. You should create your own MySpace Layouts like me by using nUCLEArcENTURy .COM's MySpace Profile Editor !data="http://www.youtube.com/v/n4v9-i6x-QE&rel=1"