Pianist Marc Copland, recognized as an innovator with a unique grasp of harmony and color, is perhaps the foremost proponent of the lyrical school of jazz pianism today. The most prolific pianist of the new millenium, Copland has 13 critically acclaimed releases to his credit since the year 2000 – and another three releases scheduled for 2005.
September 2005 marks the Pirouet records release of his eagerly-awaited return to the classic piano trio format– in which he played so beautifully on „Haunted Heart and Other Ballads“ (Hatology). With Drew Gress and Jochen Rueckert, Copland brings a unique sense of romance and beauty to songs of the heart. This trio has been hailed as „discovery of the year“ (Die Zeit/Germany), „gold record of the month“ (Diapason/France), „publisher’s pick“ (AllAboutJazz.com/USA), etc.
„Time Within Time“ (Hatology/April 2005), the sequel to his solo piano masterpiece „Poetic Motion,“ is a poignant remembrance, echoing the bittersweet events of the new millenium as only this pianist can. His solo work has established him as „a veritable poet of the piano“ Repetoire/France), a jazz pianist presenting „a real piano recital“ (Telerama/France).
This summer, in a nod to the „cookin’“ days of his all-star quintet of the nineties, Copland reunites with two master trumpeters, Randy Brecker (Nagel-Heyer) and Tim Hagans (Pirouet), on two quartet cds which capture both the power and beauty this brass instrument can project.
In January of 2005, Challenge records released „BrandNew,“ the sequel to the 2001 cd „That’s ForSure“ by the chamber-jazz trio of lyrical masters Copland, Ken Wheeler and John Abercrombie.
„…His harmonic sophistication, his touch, and control of dynamics with the foot pedal have all become–well–the stuff of legend. There are actually stories of young piano players who go to a Copland gig and then sit right near the stage to stare at his feet, to observe the nuance of how he works the damper pedal of the piano.“ (AllAboutJazz.com)
Born 27 May 1948, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Copland was a part of the vibrant music scene in Philadelphia as a saxophonist before going to New York where he met John Abercrombie and also played with Chico Hamilton, and others. He experimented with the electric alto but gradually became dissatisfied with the direction his music was taking and, leaving New York, quit playing the sax in order to study piano. He was gone for almost a decade but upon his return to the jazz world in the mid-80s his piano playing was a revelation, his own vividly original style firmly in place. As a sideman he played with Bob Belden, Jane Ira Bloom, Joe Lovano, Tim Hagans, James Moody, Wallace Roney and many others.
But his career as a sideman in the Apple was relatively short-lived; Copland began recording and touring in trio with Gary Peacock and Billy Hart (At Night/Sunnyside, Paradiso/Soul Note) In the nineties, his reputation spread owing to three legendary recordings with the Savoy label, which put him on the road in an All-Star quintet (Randy Brecker, Bob Berg, and Dennis Chambers), and later in quartet with guitarist John Abercrombie, Drew Gress, and drummer Hart.
Copland has enthralled audiences not only in trio and as a solo pianist, but also as a duo partner without peer–as attested by his duo recordings with Greg Osby(Night Call, Round and Round/Nagel-Heyer) and Gary Peacock (What It Says/Sketch).
„A quiet giant of his instrument…the stuff of legend.“–AllAboutJazz.com (USA)
„Unbelievable imagination, a lesson in harmonic drama.“ –Rondo (Germany)
„Thrills from start to finish.“ –Telerama (France)
Actual projects:
Marc Copland solo
Marc Copland Trio
Marc Copland p, Stephane Kerecki – b & Fabrice Moreau – dr
Marc Copland Trio
Marc Copland p, Drew Gress b & Joey Baron dr
Marc Copland – Mark Feldman /Duo Quartet
Marc Copland p; Mark Feldman violin; Drew Gress b; Mark Ferber dr
Marc Copland Quartet 2024
Marc Copland p; Robin Verheyen saxophones; Drew Gress bass; Mark Ferber drums
Marc Copland Quartet 2024
Marc Copland p
Robin Verheyen saxophones
Drew Gress bass
Mark Ferber drums
“Music is magic in this group’s hands, and Marc Copland is the master magician….Someday is one of the year’s 10 best CDs.” — allaboutjazz.com, 9.12.22 It doesn’t seem right to think of pianist Marc Copland (born 1948) as an elder statesman, and in fact he’s still going strong. Spinning out sounds like no other pianist since the mid-1970’s, his output as a leader is staggering: over 40 critically acclaimed CDs, in solos, duos, trios, quartets and quintets. The albums, recorded for over ten different labels, feature major jazz voices of the past and present: John Abercrombie, Ralph Alessi, Joey Baron, Mike Brecker, Randy Brecker, Dennis Chambers, Mark Ferber, Billy Hart, Dave Liebman, Victor Lewis, Joe Lovano, Greg Osby, Gary Peacock, Bill Stewart, Robin Verheyen, Ken
Wheeler, and others. But if you were thinking of Copland as an older musician who has slowed down, stopped developing, and simply resting on his laurels—you couldn’t be more wrong. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” says saxophonist Robin Verheyen. “He’s an inspiration, coming up with new ideas and new sounds all the time. It’s the kind of energy and growth you’d expect from someone in the prime of their creative life. And he’s not only a major voice with such a distinctive sound and approach—you won’t find a better accompanist anywhere.” After years of recording for many of the world’s finest labels (Challenge, ECM, Hatology, \Nagel- Heyer, Pirouet, Savoy, Sketch, Soul Note, etc.), Copland took the plunge in 2016 and started his own label. The pianist’s foray into the record business has grown every year, bucking the general downward trend of cd sales. His latest solo piano release, John (illusions / mirage), has received Down Beat magazine’s “Editor’s Pick”, CHOC from Jazz Magazine (France), “CD of the Month” from Stereoplay (Germany), and five stars from both Rondo (Germany) and Neu Zuricher Zeitung (Switzerland). Dan McClenaghan of allaboutjazz.com put it succinctly: “Copland is a genius…he creates the loveliest of sounds.” The respected blog jazzstation awarded him “ #1 Acoustic Pianist of the Year” for 2020.
At 39, Robin Verheyen is a major saxophonist and composer of the younger generation. His credits include Marc Copland, Roy Hargrove, Maria Schneider and Toots Thielemans, and his own bands have included the likes of Joey Baron, Drew Gress, Billy Hart, and the late Gary Peacock. He also co- leads the band TaxiWars with rock singer Tom Barman (of dEUS fame). In 2014 he traveled to Senegal to immerse himself in that country’s musical traditions, subsequently using the experience to bring together West African rhythms and modernistic harmonies. This type of cross-genre approach to music has become a feature of the saxophonist’s work. In January 2018, Universal Music released Verheyen’s When The Birds Leave, featuring Marc Copland, Drew Gress and Billy Hart. More recently he completed two new commissioned works, one for string quintet and saxophone, and another for string trio, piano and saxophone, featuring pianist Copland and the Goeyvaerts String trio. The premier performance of the latter work took place at Antwerp’s Museum of Fine Arts, where Verheyen has been Artist in Residence since 2017. Robin’s first Universal release was followed in 2019 by MiXMONK, with veteran Joey Baron and young pianist Bram De Looze. Forthcoming releases for 2021 and 2022 include a new solo soprano saxophone album and a quartet reworking of Bach’s „A Musical Offering“.
With decades of experience under his belt, it wouldn’t be hard to argue that bassist Drew Gress is one of the most gifted, versatile, and innovative players on his instrument today. He’s been a longtime companion of pianist Copland in trios, quartets, and (lately) in duo as well. But Copland’s got a lot of competition; Gress’s credits in recent years read like a „who’s who in jazz“ — John Abercrombie, Ralph Alessi, Tim Berne, Don Byron, Ravi Coltrane, Jack deJohnette, Dave Douglas, and John Hollenbeck. And did we mention pianists? Copland’s not the only one who relies on Gress: there’s Uri Caine, Bill Carrothers, Sylvie Courvoisier, Fred Hersch, Randy Ingram, and many others. He’s adept at playing all varieties of jazz, and demand for him shows no sign of slowing down. Drew is also a gifted composer, as one can hear on the beautiful “Figment” from Copland’s „And I Love Her“ (Illusions/Mirage). A bandleader in his own right, Gress’s output includes Heyday, 7 Black Butterflies, and Irrational Numbers, all of which garnered raves from the press (5 star ratings on view at allmusic.com). Critic John Fordham of the Guardian described a performance by Gress’s group as „one of the great jazz performances in Britain this year.“ In 2004, the UK’s BBC Radio and the Guardian selected his quartet’s live broadcast as „Jazz concert of the year.“ A respected educator, Gress has taught at the Peabody Conservatory and Western Connecticut State University. He has been artist-in-residence at University of Colorado-Boulder and Russia’s St. Petersburg Conservatory.
If there’s jazz bands playing in New York tonight, you can be sure drummer Mark Ferber, (born 1975) can be heard playing with one of them. One of the busiest drummers on the NYC scene, Ferber’s credits include over 200 recordings. Recent and upcoming releases include Ralph Alessi’s quartet (Imaginary Friends, ECM), Marc Copland’s quartet (Busybody, innerVoice Jazz), the Brad Shepik Organ Trio, and his twin brother, Alan Ferber’s
Grammy nominated big band and nonet. Past tour and recording credits include Don Byron, Billy Childs, Fred Hersch, John O’Gallagher, Lee Konitz, Jonathan Kreisberg, Mark Helias, Dave Liebman, Tony Malaby, John O’Gallagher, Gary Peacock, Bud Shank, and Steve Swallow. A popular educator, his teaching credits in the USA and Europe include the California Institute of the Arts (faculty member), the City College of NY, the School of Improvisational Music (SIM), the Summer Music Jazz Workshop at Lafayette, and the Tavira (Portugal) Jazz Workshop. Mark is an endorses Istanbul Cymbals. Born in California, he lives in Los Angeles and Brooklyn.
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Marc Copland Quartet feat. Mark Feldman
Marc Copland – p
Mark Feldman – violin
Drew Gress – b
Jonas Burgwinkel – dr
It doesn’t seem right to think of him as an elder statesman, but pianist and composer Marc Copland, now 72 years old, has been spinning out sounds like no other pianist since the mid-1970’s. His output as a leader is staggering: over 40 critically acclaimed CDs, in solos, duos, trios, quartets and quintets. The albums, recorded for over ten different labels, feature major jazz voices of the past and present: John Abercrombie, Ralph Alessi, Joey Baron, Mike Brecker, Randy Brecker, Dennis Chambers, Mark Ferber, Billy Hart, Dave Liebman, Victor Lewis, Joe Lovano, Greg Osby, Gary Peacock, Bill Stewart, Robin Verheyen, Ken Wheeler, and others. But if you were thinking of Copland as an older musician who has slowed down, stopped developing, and simply resting on his laurels—you couldn’t be more wrong. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” says saxophonist Robin Verheyen. “He’s an inspiration, coming up with new ideas and new sounds all the time. It’s the kind of energy and growth you’d expect from someone in the prime of their creative life. And he’s not only a major voice with such a distinctive sound and approach—you won’t find a better accompanist anywhere.” After years of recording for many of the world’s finest labels (Challenge, ECM, Hatology, \Nagel-Heyer, Pirouet, Savoy, Sketch, Soul Note, etc.), Copland took the plunge in 2016 and started his own label. The pianist’s foray into the record business has grown every year, bucking the general downward trend of CD sales. His latest release, John (illusions / mirage), has received Down Beat magazine’s “Editor’s Pick”, CHOC from Jazz Magazine (France), “CD of the Month” from Stereoplay (Germany), and five stars from both Rondo (Germany) and Neue Zuricher Zeitung (Switzerland). Dan McClenaghan of allaboutjazz.com put it succinctly: “Copland is a genius…he creates the loveliest of sounds.” The respected blog jazzstation awarded him “ #1 Acoustic Pianist of the Year” for 2020.
Born in Chicago in 1955, Grammy award-winning violinist Mark Feldman is a unique figure in the history of jazz, a violinist with impeccable classical technique and a unique modern style. In addition to his own projects, his 230-plus album credits and touring history are impressive in their breadth: he’s worked with John Abercrombie, Muhal Richard Abrams, the Basel Symphonetta, Paul Bley, Uri Caine, Johnny Cash, the CBS Television Network Orchestra, Cheryl Crow, Placido Domingo, Dave Douglas, Billy Hart, Carole King, Manhattan Transfer, the Nashville Philharmonic, Willie Nelson, the Netherlands Radio Symphony, Chris Potter, Diana Ross, the WDR Big Band, and John Zorn. And with over a couple of hundred recordings, that’s obviously just a small sample. In 2007 He was awarded the Alpert Award Prize in Music. His own projects include “What Exit” (ECM) and “Music for Violin Alone” (Tzadik). A composer, his works have been commissioned and performed by the Kronos Quartet and the WDR Radio Orchestra. He premiered the Violin Concerto of Guus Janssen as soloist with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Feldman’s intuitive approach to his instrument, and his lightning-fast ears, enable him to engage in improvised counterpoint and interplay with Copland at an extremely high level. No two performances of this band are exactly alike.
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MARC COPLAND Trio
“Nobody has consistently worked the trio format with such finesse and success, with such a touch and harmonic depth, and created such stunning beauty.” —Dan McClenaghan, allaboutjazz.com, Dec. 2022
It doesn’t seem right to think of pianist Marc Copland (born 1948) as an elder statesman, and in fact he’s still going strong. Spinning out sounds like no other pianist since the mid-1970’s, his output as a leader is staggering: over 40 critically acclaimed CDs, in solos, duos, trios, quartets and quintets. The albums, recorded for over ten different labels, feature major jazz voices of the past and present: John Abercrombie, Ralph Alessi, Joey Baron, Mike Brecker, Randy Brecker, Dennis Chambers, Mark Ferber, Billy Hart, Dave Liebman, Victor Lewis, Joe Lovano, Greg Osby, Gary Peacock, Bill Stewart, Robin Verheyen, Ken Wheeler, and others. But if you were thinking of Copland as an older musician who has slowed down, stopped developing, and simply resting on his laurels—you couldn’t be more wrong. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” says saxophonist Robin Verheyen. “He’s an inspiration, coming up with new ideas and new sounds all the time. It’s the kind of energy and growth you’d expect from someone in the prime of their creative life. And he’s not only a major voice with such a distinctive sound and approach—you won’t find a better accompanist anywhere.” After years of recording for many of the world’s finest labels (Challenge, ECM, Hatology, Nagel-Heyer, Pirouet, Savoy, Sketch, Soul Note, etc.), Copland took the plunge in 2016 and started his own label, innerVoice Jazz. The pianist’s foray into the record business has grown every year, bucking the general downward trend of cd sales. His latest solo piano release, John (illusions / mirage), has received Down Beat magazine’s “Editor’s Pick”, CHOC from Jazz Magazine (France), “CD of the Month” from Stereoplay (Germany), and five stars from both Rondo (Germany) and Neu Zuricher Zeitung (Switzerland). Dan McClenaghan of allaboutjazz.com put it succinctly: “Copland is a genius…he creates the loveliest of sounds.” The respected blog jazzstation awarded him “ #1 Acoustic Pianist of the Year” for 2020. And his latest quartet release, Someday, received another CHOC, and was described as “one of the best quartet cds of the last few years.”
STEPHANE KERECKI b
“Part of this brotherhood of double bassists who, from Charles Mingus to Henri Texier, have imposed their mark as leaders.”
With a technique second to none that is completely fluid throughout the range of his instrument, and an intimate knowledge of both jazz history and the music’s contemporary developments, musician and composer Stephane Kerecki is one of the most in-demand jazz bassists in jazz today. As a young man he studied bass with the legendary Jean-Francois Jenny-Clark—while simultaneously pursuing an education in economics. Happily, the bass won out, and it wasn’t long before he became a major figure in western European jazz. He has collaborated with, among others, Marc Copland, Daniel Humair, Sheila Jordan, Ronnie Lynn Patterson, Tony Malaby, Emile Parisien, Jacky Terrasson, and John Taylor. His awards include the Prix de Soliste au Concours de la Défense, Grand Prix de L’académie Charles Cros, «CHOC of the year» from Jazz Magazine, recording of the year from «Libération», and FFFF Télérama. In addition, he has twice won an award from the prestigious Academie du Jazz for best album of the year : most recently for best French jazz album of the year, Out of the Silence; and once for „Victoire du jazz du Meilleur Disque de l’Année » in recognition of his recording Nouvelle Vague.
FABRICE MOREAU dr
“Fabrice Moreau plays as he paints…his compositions create silence as well as sound.” —Telerama
A self-taught musician, Fabrice Moreau has pursued creativity both as a painter and a drummer.
Since 1994, he played with some of the great names in French pop : Patrick Bruel, Jean-Louis Aubert, Alain Souchon, Arthur H, Mathieu Boogaerts. His jazz gigs began in earnest with Michel Portal in 2006. Soon after came collaborations with Flavio Boltro, Pierrick Pédron, Éric Legnini, Sylvain Beuf, Bojan Z, and Jason Palmer. In 2008, he joined the Guillaume de Chassy trio for the album Faraway So Close. The same year, he took over from Antoine Banville in the trio of bassist Jean-Philippe Viret, along with pianist Édouard Ferlet. He recorded five albums with this trio, which won best group of the year at the French Jazz Awards in 2011 and 2020.
Probably the busiest jazz drummer in France, he currently plays with Stéphane Kerecki’s quartet (Best album 2015), Kerecki’s “Out of the Silence” quintet (best album 2022), and Airelle Besson’s quartet. His output both as a composer and painter were featured in an exhibition of his works during a residency at the Comptoir de Fontenay sous Bois in 2016/2017. Subsequently he recorded this material on his own album, Double portrait (2019) which featured not only his music but reproductions of his paintings supported Ricardo Izquierdo (tenor sax), Antonin-Tri Hoang (alto sax and bass clarinet), Jozef Dumoulin (piano), Matyas Szandai (double bass) and Nelson Veras (guitar). The album received Jazz Magazine’s coveted CHOC (best album) award.
