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. For his magical touch, Jazz Thing (Germany) years ago simply dubbed him “the piano whisperer.”

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 modern 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. He currently teaches in the NYU jazz department in New York.

Acclaimed by Downbeat as “one of the hippest bandleaders now at work,” Billy Drummond’s thrilling, powerful and highly musical playing has also made him one of the most in-demand drummers anywhere, making appearances with a veritable encyclopedia of jazz greats on over 350 albums, including (to name a few) Nat Adderley, Franco Ambrosetti, Carla Bley, Ron Carter, Stanley Cowell, Horace Silver, Eddie Gomez, Eddie Henderson, Joe Henderson, Vincent Herring, Andrew Hill, Freddie Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Javon Jackson, J J Johnson, Hank Jones, Sheila Jordan, Lee Konitz, Steve Kuhn, Joe Lovano, Charles McPherson, James Moody, Ralph Moore, Chris Potter, Sonny Rollins, Archie Shepp, Toots Thielmanns, Charles Tolliver, Sadao Watanabe, and Buster Williams. Drummond has made three albums as a leader—including Dubai, a New York Times Number 1 Jazz Album of the Year. Modern Drummer magazine recently honored Dubai as “one of the 50 Crucial Jazz Drumming Recordings of the Past 10 years.” He’s also made five albums as a co-leader. One of those, We’ll Be Together Again (from Three’s Company, with Ron Carter and Javon Jackson), made several “Top Ten of the Year” lists. Asked what’s important in jazz, Drummond says “most of all, to play from your heart.” Drummond currently teaches in the jazz department at the Juilliard school in NYC.