Trumpeter Louis Smith’s formative period as a jazz performer some 50 years ago was in the midst of developing/establishing stage of Bebop. Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Clifford Brown are the greatest influence on Louis Smith’s trumpet style. Here on his first release in the new millennium Louis is joined by some of the best bebop players of the younger generation.

Samuel Barber and Aaron Copland remain among the most popular of 20th-century American composers, and the accessible, populist musical style that granted them much success with audiences is evident in this collection of their vocal works. Virgil Thomson, whose music also appears here, is less of a household name; his music, while equally (or more) conservative, has never entered the mainstream like that of his contemporaries has.
This disc is of great historical interest. All the works are heard in their premiere recordings, dating from 1950 to 1954. A young Leontyne Price gives the perfect rendition of Barber's 'Hermit Songs,' imperious, coy and despairing by turns. If Eleanor Steber lacks the naïve, wide-eyed wonder of more recent interpreters of 'Knoxville: Summer of 1915,' such as Dawn Upshaw, it is refreshing to hear a more dramatic performance that may indeed be closer to the composer's wishes. In Copland's folksy 'Old American Songs,' William Warfield sings with verve and complete authority. A special attraction here is that each composer is heard as a piano accompanist in his own works, and as an added bonus, the liner notes feature engaging reminiscences about the three composers by their younger colleague Ned Rorem.

A double play in baseball usually involves three players making two outs. Here you have two excellent musicians in Marc Copeland (piano), and Vic Juris (guitar) covering 10 incredible compositions and making good music. This duet renders heartfelt renditions on tunes like Gershwin's "I loves you Porgy", "Who Can I Turn To" (Newley/Bricusse), Cole Porter's "I Concentrate on You" in addition to several originals. Copeland's debut duet CD for SteepleChase w/ Tim Hagans (tpt, fluglehorn), SCCD 31488 "Between the Lines" has met with praise from listeners everywhere. Juris, longtime guitarist with Dave Leibman, has five CDs as a leader for SteepleChase.

With sounds that whistle deep blue and remind you of the blues - the origins of jazz? - in his new composition Robin Verheyen takes colors from Jean Fouquet's 'Madonna' and assigns them to his tenor and soprano, the three musicians of the Goeyvaerts String Trio and the 88 keys of Marc Copland's piano.

With sounds that whistle deep blue and remind you of the blues - the origins of jazz? - in his new composition Robin Verheyen takes colors from Jean Fouquet's 'Madonna' and assigns them to his tenor and soprano, the three musicians of the Goeyvaerts String Trio and the 88 keys of Marc Copland's piano.

2018 release. Four forward thinking musicians came together to create Quartette Oblique, an ensemble which, as their name suggests, approaches the music from a skewed but engaging angle. Brought together by drummer Michael Stephans, the group features saxophone great Dave Liebman, pianist extraordinaire Marc Copland and the stalwart Drew Gress on bass. Their eponymously titled recording finds them at their most freewheeling in a live performance at the Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania. For Quartette Oblique, Stephans reached out to three brilliant, improvising musicians who he knew would trust their instincts and play collective music in an open and exploratory way. Copland is a pianist who Stephans appreciated for decades and who made perfect sense for the ensemble. Having been a longtime fan of woodwind master Dave Liebman, Stephans first worked with Liebman in 2004 and their relationship has truly blossomed. Gress was a perfect pick on bass, as his personal touch and beautiful sound have buoyed Stephans 's drums in a number of rhythm sections in the recent past. Ythm sections in the recent past.