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Does she do jazz-influenced pop, or pop-influenced jazz? Whatever genre you specify, one thing is clear: Jacqueline Hopkins is an artist whose work includes soulful lyrics, beautiful music, unique arrangements, and sultry vocals. As a fan once put it, "her work is not constrained to any single genre." Her influences are varied--from Bjork to Sting, from Les Nubians to Mozart. However, Bjork's early work is her biggest influence. As international soprano Shannon D. Hunt once put it, Jacqueline "combines lingering melodies; rich, complex rhythms; and innovative song forms to produce music that defies classification."
Her music has been recorded with some of the cream of New York's jazz musicians on board, including bassist Hilliard "Hill" Greene, former musical director for the legendary Jimmy Scott, and flautist Elise Wood, leader of the John Hicks Legacy Band.
Since her professional debut in 2001, Jacqueline has been steadily building a reputation and a following in a crowded musical landscape. Her songwriting and arranging are far beyond her formal training, which she is the first to admit has not been extensive.
She first started composing music and lyrics on an antique player piano in her childhood home, at the age of nine. She continues to compose on that same piano today. She also plays the drums and the electric bass. She has formally studied under conductor Paul F. Mueller; vocal coaches Bill Riley, Shirley Calloway, Sanja Markovich, and Shannon D. Hunt; and jazz ensemble director Bruce Bonissuto. She currently studies music theory with Hilliard "Hill" Greene.
She has electrified audiences in both New York and Reykyavik, at diverse venues including Birdland, Metropolitan Room, University of the Streets, the Knitting Factory, 169 Bar, Shakespeare's Sister, Artland Bar, Pumpkins, the Continental, the C-Note, Sun Music Company, Izzy Bar, Caffe Vivaldi, the Sidewalk Cafe, and Hus Malarans.
She has released several CDs: Intimate Eruption (2001), Longing (2002), Love Is (2004), Topsy Turvy (2009), and Rain (2011). She has released fifteen music videos: "I Should Be Singin'" (2009); "Rain" (2012); and live versions of "And I'm Ecstatic," "Night and Day." "Rain," "My Funny Valentine," "Your Complexities," and "I Should Be Singin,'" "Jack Be Nimble," "You're My Angel." "Come Lie Down," "Heaven," "Intimacy," "Your Love Makes Me Love You" (2014), and "My Man's Gone Now" (2016).