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Bertha Hope

New York City's best play in the park
Angelito Jusay
September 9, 2025, 12:30pm–2:30pm

A five, six, seven, eight…
Come on down and swing along to the best ragtime, stride, and jazz the Big Apple has to offer. With special performances on select Thursdays and sprinkled spontaneously throughout the season.

Find Piano in Bryant Park on the Upper Terrace at the base of the William Cullen Bryant Statue behind the New York Public Library.

Bertha Hope
Jazz, Composer, Arranger

"I’ve studied everyone who’s tried it, from Paul Bley and Keith Jarrett to Geri Allen and Jason Moran, and I’m telling you, Bertha is absolutely killing it…" - Ethan Iverson, JazzTimes Magazine (on Bertha playing in the Ornette Coleman tradition)

Bertha Hope is an American jazz pianist, teacher, composer and arranger who has traveled around the world, and worked with a diverse group of artists, from Dizzy Gillespie and Frank Foster. In addition to being the leader of the Bertha Hope Trio, she has re-formed the Bertha Hope 5tet featuring Elmo Hope compositions. As composer and arranger of several recordings her works include: In Search of Hope and Elmo’s FireBetween Two Kings and her latest on the Reservoir label, Nothin’ But Love. After completing a two-year residency at Minton's Supper Club in Harlem, Bertha began work on a documentary about her life, as well as a new CD. She has been honored by the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, and continues to work with her daughter, Monica Meaux Hope, on a music CD for Meaux Hopes’ play, Healing Fractures. Bertha was married to, and worked with, the late legendary bassist Walter Booker.

Thank you for the music!

Many thanks to Sam Ash Music Stores for their support through the years.

Pianist Frank Owens sits at the piano in Bryant Park NYC with a crowd of listeners.
Angelito Jusay Photography