Tim Hopkins
Encyclopedia
Tim Hopkins, is an Australian jazz
musician who won the Australian National Jazz Award at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz
in 1993.
, Australia, Hopkins was heading for a career in graphic arts when he picked up the saxophone
on a whim at age 15. He graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
and came to the attention of Australian jazz musicians Vince Jones
, Paul Grabowsky
, Mike Nock
, James Morrison
, Don Burrows
, top kiwi musicians Kim Patterson, Kevin Field, Frank Gibson Jnr, Nathan Haines
, Mark de Clive Lowe, Andy Browne, Roger Fox, King Kapisi
and Gray Bartlett. Other credits include You Am I
, Kate Ceberano
, Ed Kuepper
, Doug Williams, Midnight Oil
, Jackie Orszaczky
, and many others, not to mention a brief jam with Sting.
Hopkins has also developed his skills as a composer and band leader, his debut in 1993 Good Heavens coincided with winning the National Jazz Award at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz
in Australia. By the end of the 1990s he had recorded another four CDs, toured South East Asia, Canada and Europe and performed at Jazz Festivals from Montreal to Melbourne, Waiheke to Wellington.
In 1999, on an Australia Arts Council grant, he studied with saxophonist George Garzone
in New York City
. Whilst there, he played with Jim Black
and Seamus Blake and wrote/arranged/performed with an ensemble called Phydia featuring a string quartet with a standard jazz quartet line up.
In 2000, Hopkins moved back to New Zealand and began recording and compiling his 6th solo CD Hear Now After. The first single Loophole features TV presenter Russell Harrison on vocals, rapper King Kapisi
, percussionist Miguel Fuentes and Hopkins on an assortment of instruments. Loophole was included on a NZ On Air compilation disc and features a black and white video directed by the NZ Independent Film Company.
Hopkins was instrumental in starting the Heineken Green Room Sessions across New Zealand with DJ Clarke and The Gordon Bennett Project. GBP have also played at the Heineken Open, headlined in Malaysia and Singapore at several big events and released a double CD recorded at Millton Vineyards & Winery in Gisborne.
Hear Now After, which was released in March 2008, features many of the musicians listed above and other top players from New Zealand and Australia, including appearances by drumming legend—and father—Tony Hopkins, Mike Nock
, Max Stowers, Dixon Nacey, Aaron Coddel, Jonathan Zwartz and Sean Wayland.
Hopkins recently returned to Sydney where he is performing/producing music, and designing websites.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician who won the Australian National Jazz Award at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz
Wangaratta Festival of Jazz
The Wangaratta Festival of Jazz is an annual festival of jazz and blues held in the town of Wangaratta, 2.5 hours from Melbourne in North East Victoria, Australia. It has become the premier jazz event in Australia and is renowned internationally....
in 1993.
Career
Growing up in BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia, Hopkins was heading for a career in graphic arts when he picked up the saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
on a whim at age 15. He graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Sydney Conservatorium of Music
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music is one of the oldest and most prestigious music schools in Australia...
and came to the attention of Australian jazz musicians Vince Jones
Vince Jones
Vince Jones is an Australian jazz artist. He is a singer, songwriter, and trumpet/flugelhorn player. His music includes both original music and new contemporary versions of jazz standards. His themes are often love, inequity, injustice, peace and anti-greed.He attributes his love of jazz to...
, Paul Grabowsky
Paul Grabowsky
-Biography:Grabowsky was born on 27 September 1958 in Lae, Papua New Guinea; his father Alistair had lived in Papua New Guinea with his wife Charlotte since the 1930s working on oil rigs, building roads, flying planes and playing the drums...
, Mike Nock
Mike Nock
Mike Nock is a jazz pianist, currently based in Australia. He began studying piano at 11 and by 18 was performing in Australia. He headed a trio that toured England in 1961 and then attended Berklee College of Music...
, James Morrison
James Morrison (musician)
James Morrison AM is an Australian jazz musician who plays numerous instruments, but is best known for his trumpet playing...
, Don Burrows
Don Burrows
Donald Vernon Burrows, AO, MBE is an Australian jazz and swing musician, playing the clarinet, saxophone, and flute....
, top kiwi musicians Kim Patterson, Kevin Field, Frank Gibson Jnr, Nathan Haines
Nathan Haines
Nathan Haines is a New Zealand jazz and adult contemporary saxophonist.-Life and career:Haines was born in 1972. His father, Kevin, played jazz bass, and his brother, Joel, played guitar. Haines played gigs with Joel across New Zealand, before moving to New York in 1991 to study jazz...
, Mark de Clive Lowe, Andy Browne, Roger Fox, King Kapisi
King Kapisi
King Kapisi is a New Zealand Hip hop recording artist. He was the first Hip hop artist in New Zealand to receive the prestigious Silver Scroll Award at the APRA Awards for Songwriter of the Year for his single Reverse Resistance in 1999, which followed on the popular release of his debut single...
and Gray Bartlett. Other credits include You Am I
You Am I
You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by vocalist/guitarist and main songwriter Tim Rogers. They were the first Australian band to have three albums successively debut at #1 on the ARIA Charts, and are renowned for their live performances.-History:Tim Rogers formed the first...
, Kate Ceberano
Kate Ceberano
Kate Ceberano is an Australian singer. She achieved success in the soul, jazz and pop genres as well as in her brief forays into musicals with Jesus Christ Superstar and film...
, Ed Kuepper
Ed Kuepper
Ed Kuepper is an Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He co-founded the seminal punk band The Saints, the experimental post-punk group Laughing Clowns and later the grunge-like The Aints...
, Doug Williams, Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...
, Jackie Orszaczky
Jackie Orszaczky
Jackie Orszaczky was a Hungarian-Australian musician, arranger, and record producer, playing mainly bass guitar, but also various other instruments.-Work:...
, and many others, not to mention a brief jam with Sting.
Hopkins has also developed his skills as a composer and band leader, his debut in 1993 Good Heavens coincided with winning the National Jazz Award at the Wangaratta Festival of Jazz
Wangaratta Festival of Jazz
The Wangaratta Festival of Jazz is an annual festival of jazz and blues held in the town of Wangaratta, 2.5 hours from Melbourne in North East Victoria, Australia. It has become the premier jazz event in Australia and is renowned internationally....
in Australia. By the end of the 1990s he had recorded another four CDs, toured South East Asia, Canada and Europe and performed at Jazz Festivals from Montreal to Melbourne, Waiheke to Wellington.
In 1999, on an Australia Arts Council grant, he studied with saxophonist George Garzone
George Garzone
George Garzone is a saxophonist and jazz educator residing in New York city.Saxophonist George Garzone is a member of The Fringe, a jazz trio founded in 1972 that includes bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti, that performs regularly in the Boston area and has toured world wide. The...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Whilst there, he played with Jim Black
Jim Black
Jim Black is a jazz drummer who has performed with Tim Berne and Dave Douglas, among others. He attended Berklee College of Music....
and Seamus Blake and wrote/arranged/performed with an ensemble called Phydia featuring a string quartet with a standard jazz quartet line up.
In 2000, Hopkins moved back to New Zealand and began recording and compiling his 6th solo CD Hear Now After. The first single Loophole features TV presenter Russell Harrison on vocals, rapper King Kapisi
King Kapisi
King Kapisi is a New Zealand Hip hop recording artist. He was the first Hip hop artist in New Zealand to receive the prestigious Silver Scroll Award at the APRA Awards for Songwriter of the Year for his single Reverse Resistance in 1999, which followed on the popular release of his debut single...
, percussionist Miguel Fuentes and Hopkins on an assortment of instruments. Loophole was included on a NZ On Air compilation disc and features a black and white video directed by the NZ Independent Film Company.
Hopkins was instrumental in starting the Heineken Green Room Sessions across New Zealand with DJ Clarke and The Gordon Bennett Project. GBP have also played at the Heineken Open, headlined in Malaysia and Singapore at several big events and released a double CD recorded at Millton Vineyards & Winery in Gisborne.
Hear Now After, which was released in March 2008, features many of the musicians listed above and other top players from New Zealand and Australia, including appearances by drumming legend—and father—Tony Hopkins, Mike Nock
Mike Nock
Mike Nock is a jazz pianist, currently based in Australia. He began studying piano at 11 and by 18 was performing in Australia. He headed a trio that toured England in 1961 and then attended Berklee College of Music...
, Max Stowers, Dixon Nacey, Aaron Coddel, Jonathan Zwartz and Sean Wayland.
Hopkins recently returned to Sydney where he is performing/producing music, and designing websites.
Discography
- Good Heavens! (1993)
- Pandora's Box (1994)
- Funkenstein (1995)
- Upon My Camel (1996)
- Popcorn (1997)
- Hear Now After (2008)
Sideman credits
- The Aints – Ascension (1992)
- The Aints – Autocannibalism (1992)
- Australian Art Orchestra – Ringing The Bell Backwards
- D.I.G. (Directions In Groove) – Deeper (1994)
- Lily Dior – Invitation (1998)
- Paul Grabowsky – Viva Viva (1994)
- Vince Jones – Here's To The Miracles (1996)
- Ed Kuepper – Black Ticket DayBlack Ticket DayBlack Ticket Day is the sixth solo album by Australian guitarist and songwriter Ed Kuepper recorded in 1992 and released on the Hot label.-Reception:The album spent 2 weeks in the Australian charts in 1992 peaking at number 45...
(1992) - Barney McAll – Exit (1996)
- James Muller Trio – All Out (1999)
- Mike Nock Quartet – Dark and Curious (1991)
- Jackie Orszaczky Budget Orchestra – Deep Down and Out (1998)
- Niko Schauble's Tibetan Dixie – Ya It Ma Thing
- Sean Wayland – South Pacific Soul (2002)