CHRIS HOPKINS meets his PIANO FRIENDS - with a surprise guest of international standing

Swinging jazz duets on two grand pianos:

CHRIS HOPKINS meets his PIANO FRIENDS

"The Great American Songbook - and more!"
from George Gershwin to Duke Ellington

Relaxed, elegant, and utterly captivating.

Chris Hopkins, born in Princeton, New Jersey and long based in Germany, ranks among the busiest musicians on the international jazz circuit. His melodic, swinging style has earned him a string of awards, including the "Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik" and the "Prix de L'Académie du Jazz" in Paris. He was recently honoured as "Keeper of the Flame" for his contributions to classic jazz in Europe. More than 4,000 concerts and festivals alongside legends such as Clark Terry, Harry "Sweets" Edison, Bucky Pizzarelli, Scott Hamilton, and Butch Miles have taken him across Europe, to the USA, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.

Hopkins shares with a handful of pianists worldwide a deep passion for the tradition of swinging jazz piano - from Fats Waller through Erroll Garner to Oscar Peterson. Drawing on his idols, he has long since developed a musical voice entirely his own. Today perhaps two dozen pianists in the world truly master this technically demanding art of orchestral piano playing, which in a duo setting produces moments of rare communicative magic. Each year, as part of his "Piano Friends" series, Hopkins invites a new guest of international standing to join him at two grand pianos.

The programme features landmark compositions by the old masters alongside cleverly arranged pieces from the swing era and the Great American Songbook - from Gershwin to Ellington. The aim is not nostalgic recreation but a living continuation of this fascinating pianistic art form, driven by wit, spontaneity, and the sheer joy of brilliant improvisation.