Ray Copeland (musician)
Ray Copeland ( born July 17, 1926 in Norfolk, Virginia; † 18 MAY 1984 Sunderland, Massachusetts ) was an American jazz trumpeter of the swing and modern jazz, composer and music educator.
Life
At the beginning of his musical career playing Copeland in 1945 with Cecil Scott, Chris Columbus in Small's Paradise in 1946, then went with Mercer Ellington's Orchestra 1947/48 on tour and worked 1948/49, Al Koopers Savoy Sultans. In the first half of the 1950s he was not working as a professional musician, but worked in a paper mill and played in his free times with Andy Kirk, Lucky Millinder, Lucky Thompson, Sy Oliver and others. From 1957 to 1958 he worked with Randy Weston, Tito Puente and 1958 with Oscar Pettiford, Johnny Richards and 1958/59 at Gigi Gryce. 1958 to 1961 he worked in the theater orchestra of the Roxy and led a 14-strong band temporarily for club appearances. From 1962 to 1964 he played in the backing band of Pearl Bailey.
Copeland took part in the course of his musical career at many swing and hard bop sessions; but best known are his recordings with Thelonious Monk on the album Monk's Music in 1956. Copeland played a swinging style, but could never emerge from the shadow of trumpet players of his time such as Lee Morgan and Clifford Brown. In 1967 he played in the big band lineup of Booker Ervin with, in 1968, he was again with Thelonious Monk on tour in 1973, he played at the Newport Jazz Festival. In addition, Copeland took on the Oliver Nelson Orchestra, the blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon and Ella Fitzgerald albums.
Since the late 60s Copeland was increasingly active as a music teacher; he held such as workshops in public schools, at the Jazz Mobile and numerous summer universities. Later, Copeland was a professor of music at Hampshire College in Amherst ( Massachusetts) and taught jazz composition. His "Classical Jazz Suite in Six Movements" was in 1970 in the Lincoln Center premiere.
Auswahldiskographie
- Thelonious Monk: Blue Monk ( Prestige Records, 1954)
- Randy Weston: The Modern Art of Jazz ( Dawn Records, 1957)
- Phil Woods / Red Garland: Sugan (New Jazz, 1957)
- Booker Ervin Booker 'n' Brass (Pacific Jazz Records, 1967)
Publication
- The Ray Copeland Method and Approach to the Creative Art of Jazz Improvisation ( Kaerecea, 1974)
Literature / Sources
- Bielefeld Catalog Jazz, 2001
- Richard Cook, Brian Morton: The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. 6th Edition, Penguin, London, 2002. ISBN 0-14-017949-6