It doesn’t seem right to think of him as an elder statesman, but pianist and composer Marc Copland, (born 1948) 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 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 37, 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.