Bertha Hope born 8 October 1936

Jazz pianist Bertha Hope-Booker was born to Corinne Meaux and Clinton Rosemond. Raised in western Los Angeles, California, Hope-Booker attended Manual Arts High School. As a youth, she performed in numerous Los Angeles clubs. Hope-Booker studied piano at Los Angeles Community College and later received her B.A. degree in early childhood education from Antioch College. 

In her youth, Hope-Booker played music with and learned from other young musicians in her neighbourhood. She had perfect pitch and a natural talent for the piano. Eric Dolphy was her pal at City College and brought her by when Max Roach and Clifford Brown rehearsed at his house in 1954. The pianist in that group, Richie Powell, showed her a few jazz voicings. She soon learned Avery Parrish’s “After Hours” to play in the L.A. blues bars. 

By the end of the decade, she had met and married Elmo Hope, and in 1961 they moved to the East Coast where she worked at a telephone company during the day while performing at night. There was one recording for Riverside (1961’s Hope-Full) that featured both Hopes—Bertha’s on three tracks—but Elmo died tragically young and Bertha settled into raising their children and playing gigs in the tri-state area. Her key associate from those years was probably little-known vibraphonist Doug Hawthorne.

After her husband’s passing in 1967, she continued to present his music and remained an active force in improvised music within the New York jazz scene. Hope served as an artist-in-residence under the auspices of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. Through this program, she performed in state-wide New Jersey music workshops with Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Foster, Nat Adderley and Philly Joe Jones. 

In the early ’80s, Bertha met bassist Walter Booker and from there became more visible in New York music circles. Her pianist friends and influences then included John Hicks, Ronnie Mathews, and Larry Willis, all people she met at Booker’s Boogie Woogie Studios. She later married and the two worked to keep the music of Elmo Hope alive through Hope-Booker’s tribute ensemble called ELMOllenium and The Elmo Hope Project. She also plays with another group, Jazzberry Jam. In addition, Hope-Booker is the leader of The Bertha Hope Trio, which has toured extensively throughout Japan.

         Here's “Book’s Bok” from Nothin' But Love album.

There’s too little of Bertha on record, but she is a composer and arranger with several recordings under her name, including In Search of Hope and Elmo’s Fire (Steeplechase); Between Two Kings (Minor Records) and her latest on the Reservoir label, Nothin’ But Love. 

Hope-Booker has also taught an advanced jazz ensemble at The Lucy Moses School and an Introduction to Jazz program at Washington Irving High School in New York City, which was sponsored by Bette Midler. The Seattle-based trio, New Stories, has recorded a CD of Hope-Booker's music entitled, Hope Is In the Air.