Press Release – Trumpeter Chris Hodgkins releases three albums

Press Release

Trumpeter Chris Hodgkins releases three albums

The “Salute To Humphrey Lyttelton” album was recorded after last November’s 17 date UK tour, the Chris Hodgkins International Quartet album “Festooned with Trumpets”, was recorded after their tour in 2019 and the Vic Parker, Chris Hodgkins, Jed Williams album was recorded live at the Quebec Hotel, Cardiff in January/ February 1976. All three albums are available from https://chrishodgkins.bandcamp.com/ or from www.chrishodgkins.co.uk

In November and December, the Chris Hodgkins band completed a 17 date tour with support from Arts Council England, the “Salute To Humphrey Lyttelton” a celebration of the legendary trumpeter, bandleader and BBC broadcaster Humphrey Lyttelton, on what would have been his 100^th birthday anniversary year.

Rising to prominence in the early 1950s, Lyttelton’s hit single ‘Bad Penny Blues’ was the first-ever British jazz record to achieve top 20 status.  Throughout his career, he blazed a trail with diverse presentations of jazz music and unique collaborations.

In 2002, he performed (in front of 42,000) and recorded with Radiohead, engaging an entirely new audience with his music and providing a rare platform for fellow jazz musicians to play on a world stage.

In addition to his influential role as leader of the jazz revival, Lyttelton, affectionately known as “Humph”, was also a much-loved broadcaster, hosting BBC Radio 2’s ‘Best Of Jazz’ programme for many years, as well as BBC Radio 4’s hugely successful and still running) comedy show ‘I’m Sorry, I Haven’t A Clue’ (later hosted by Jack Dee).

The “Salute To Humphrey Lyttelton” album comprises Humph’s compositions, as well as some new pieces composed for the tour.

“I’ve waited all year to hear a band like this! Maybe waited all my life or at least since I first heard the Lyttelton band in Camden Town Hall – the one that had Coe, Skidmore, Temperley and Pickard alongside Humph in the front line. This band exuded the same amount of class – the ensembles were something else. What a sound!“ Lance Liddle, Bebop Spoken Here November 2021

“Festooned with Trumpets”: With funding from Arts Council England, Chris Hodgkins toured an outstanding Anglo/American quartet in May 2019. Chris recruited  South Korean pianist from New York, Jinjoo Yoo, “one of the most exciting pianists on the scene in New York”, plus guitarist Wayne Wilkinson, “one of the best, most underrated jazz guitarists in the USA”, and featured Alison Rayner.

The music comprised a mixture of standards and four originals especially written for the tour and the album was recorded immediately after the tour.

“Vic Parker At The Quebec Hotel + Chris Hodgkins + Jed Williams”: Chris hails from Cardiff and it was there in Cardiff’s Tiger Bay he worked with the local legendary guitar player Vic Parker at the Quebec Hotel, Crichton Street, Cardiff. Two sessions with Vic Parker with Chris on cornet and Jed Williams on drums were recorded in January and February 1976.

Further information

Tel: 020 884 04643
Tel:0750 764 9077
chrishodgkins3@gmail.com
www.chrishodgkins.co.uk
https://twitter.com/HodgkinsChris
https://chrishodgkins.bandcamp.com/