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Brenda Hopkins Miranda

Brenda Hopkins Miranda was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She is currently doing trio (piano, bass and drums), quartet (piano, guitar, bass and drums) and piano solo concerts. Having grown up with the sounds that encompass Puerto Rican and Caribbean music, she has continued to expand her essence by adding soul, blues, funk, jazz, classical, bluegrass, rock, flamenco and all sorts of multicultural influences. Her music is influenced and inspired by a diverse list of artists that includes Radiohead, Nina Simone, Robert Plant, GoGo Penguin, The Chemical Brothers, Melody Gardot, Avishai Cohen and Nik Bärtsch. As a bandleader Hopkins Miranda has released six recordings of original music on her BHM label: “Boricua on Board,” (1998) “Bohemia,” (1999), “Recuerdos de Granada/Memoirs of Granada.” (2009), "Simple" (2012), "Aeropiano" (2014) and "Puentes" (2017). Brenda is known for her expressive sensibilities, daring compositions, powerful grooves and fearless improvisations. Undoubtedly her #1 passion is improvisation or as she describes it, to “go into the danger zone”. Because of the intensity of her playing people call her “Dedos de fuego” (fire fingers). Hopkins Miranda considers herself to be a percussionist more than a pianist. A Cadence Magazine review indicated that she “mixes rhythms together with the intensity of a mad scientist and comes up with something quite unlike any other ethnic Jazz mixture out there.” Her sound is percussive, lush, melancholic, vibrant, energetic, compelling and uplifting. A Latin Jazz Network article said that: “Hopkins is one of those exceptional artists who have the capacity to capture the listener’s attention and express infinite emotions with just one note. While you listen to her you have the sense that nothing is missing or superfluous, that each sound arrives in the perfect moment.” Onstage, Brenda always delivers pure magic or duende. All about Jazz says: “The fact that Brenda Hopkins Miranda is one of the most exciting pianists in Puerto Rico certainly added to the allure and excitement in this packed seaside venue. She is a mesmerizing performer…” Her live concerts in Puerto Rico, the US, South America and Europe have been known to literally lift people up from their seats because of the excitement her performances generate. Brenda has been playing the piano since she was five years old. She started working as a professional musician while still a teenager and had a very successful career as a first call pianist for international artists such as Kany García and many others.

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86
Album Review

Brenda Hopkins Miranda: Aeropiano

Read "Aeropiano" reviewed by James Nadal


The aphorism that art imitates life is appropriate in describing pianist Brenda Hopkins Miranda. A consummate traveler and beneficiary of a bilingual and bicultural environment, her sense of purpose is to genuinely exploit the piano as a personal extension to convey melodious concepts with deft imagery and drama. Aeropiano is a passage through myriad influences and experiences leading to destinations both real and imagined, where the key is to listen. The title track is introduced by bomba drums ...

80
Album Review

Brenda Hopkins Miranda: Simple

Read "Simple" reviewed by James Nadal


The piano thoroughly lends itself to the emotional manifestations of the consummate and contemplative Brenda Hopkins Miranda. Simple channels her profound individuality, drawn from a private source of focused consciousness and performed with genuine grace and elegance.As a composer and producer, Hopkins Miranda is well-honed, and she is attuned to the album concept, as luminously displayed on Recuerdos de Granada/Memoirs from Granada (Zona Boricua, 2009) and its repertoire, drawn from her Spanish sojourn. This time around, she is ...

436
Live Review

Brenda Hopkins Miranda Live in Guanica, Puerto Rico October 23, 2010

Read "Brenda Hopkins Miranda Live in Guanica, Puerto Rico October 23, 2010" reviewed by James Nadal


Brenda Hopkins MirandaBodega Andreu SoléGuanica, Puerto RicoOctober 23, 2010 The fact that Brenda Hopkins Miranda is one of the most exciting pianists in Puerto Rico certainly added to the allure and excitement in this packed seaside venue. The Bodega Andreu Solé is an open air Spanish winery located on a small bay in Guanica, Puerto Rico. Under the spell of a full moon, this would prove to be the perfect setting to take in ...

328
Album Review

Brenda Hopkins Miranda: Recuerdos de Granada / Memoirs of Granada

Read "Recuerdos de Granada / Memoirs of Granada" reviewed by James Nadal


Pianist Brenda Hopkins Miranda did not go to Spain to record an album. She went to study ethnomusicology in the city of Granada, and in the ensuing two years was drawn into the tablao or flamenco dance culture of the city. From listening to the opening flairs of Recuerdos de Granada/Memoirs of Granada it would be a logical assumption that the music chose her. The results of that encounter are heard in this recording.

The music on the record is ...

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”Brenda Hopkins Miranda is a pianist originally from Puerto Rico whose music is a tasty blend of global influences. In addition to being a remarkable composer and arranger, Hopkins Miranda is also a formidable pianist. She creates a superb mix of European romanticism, Spanish passion and Third World heat. Ms. Hopkins mixes rhythms together with the intensity of a mad scientist and comes up with something quite unlike any other ethnic Jazz mixture out there.” -Jerome Wilson - Cadence Magazine

“Pianista, educadora, compositora, arreglista y persona largamente vinculada al quehacer cultural del pais, Brenda Hopkins Miranda es una de nuestras jazzistas más destacadas. Ahora acaba de añadir a su resumé una página luminosa, cargada de originalidad y sentimiento.

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Primary Instrument

Piano

Location

San Juan

Willing to teach

Intermediate to advanced

Credentials/Background

Music profesor at Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico and Inter American University.

Clinic/Workshop Information

Creativity exercises for composers, improvisers, artists and musicians.

GoGo Penguin
band / ensemble / orchestra

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Puentes

Bhm Music
2017

buy

Aeropiano

Bhm Music
2014

buy

Simple

Zona Boricua Records
2012

buy

Recuerdos de Granada...

Zona Boricua Records
2009

buy

Videos

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