Bertha Hope (Piano) was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. As a youth, she performed in numerous Los Angeles clubs, studied piano at Los Angeles Community College (where Eric Dolphy was a classmate) and received her B.A. in early childhood education from Antioch College.

In her youth, she studied with Richie Powell, and Elmo Hope, the latter becoming her husband in 1957. She moved with Elmo Hope to the Bronx, New York. She performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Frank Foster, Nat Adderley and Philly Joe Jones. She later married Walter Booker, Jr., and the two worked to keep the music of Elmo Hope alive through the ensembles, ELMOllenium and The Elmo Hope Project. Bertha received lifetime achievement awards from Cobi Narita's Jazz Coalition and from Dr. Billy Taylor at the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival in Washington, D.C.

Eddie Allen - trumpet, Gene Ghee - saxophone, Kim Clarke - bass, Lucianna Padmore - drums

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