Ray Copeland (musician)

Ray Copeland (July 17, 1926 – May 18, 1984)[1] was an American jazz trumpet player and teacher.

Ray Copeland
BornJuly 17, 1926
Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.
DiedMay 18, 1984 (aged 57)
Sunderland, Massachusetts, U.S.
GenresJazz
InstrumentsTrumpet

Early life

Copeland was born in Norfolk, Virginia. He studied at Boys High School in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn.[2]

Career

Copeland's active career spanned from the 1940s to the 1980s.[3] Throughout his career he participated on many swing and hard bop dates, appearing on the well known Monk's Music by Thelonious Monk recorded in June 1957. Copeland played with a swinging, upbeat approach, but was undoubtedly overshadowed by other top trumpeters of the era such as Lee Morgan and Clifford Brown. He toured with Thelonious Monk in 1968, and appeared at the 1973 Newport Jazz Festival. Later, Copeland was a Music Professor at Hampshire College, teaching jazz composition.[1]

In 1974, he published the book The Ray Copeland Method and Approach to the Creative Art of Jazz Improvisation.[3] Copeland never recorded as a session leader.

Personal life

Copeland's son, Keith Copeland, was a noted jazz drummer. Ray died of a heart attack in 1984 in Sunderland, Massachusetts.[3]

Discography

With Thelonious Monk

With Specs Powell

With Randy Weston

With Jimmy Witherspoon

With others

References
  1. Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. pp. 559/560. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
  2. Randy Weston, Willard Jenkins, African Rhythms: The Autobiography of Randy Weston, Duke University Press Books, 2010, p. 71.
  3. "Ray Copeland Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-06-25.
  4. "Ray Copeland | Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.