Keith Copeland (born in New York City on April 18, 1946, died in Germany on February 14, 2015) was a jazz drummer and music educator.

Career

His father,

Ray Copeland Ray or RAY may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), the bony or horny spine on ray-finned fish Science and mathematics * Half-line (geometry) or ray, half of a line split at an ...

, was a jazz trumpeter, and he learned by watching him, but he decided to play drums after studying

Art Blakey Arthur Blakey (October 11, 1919 – October 16, 1990) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He was also known as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina after he converted to Islam for a short time in the late 1940s. Blakey made a name for himself in the 1 ...

's records with The Jazz Messengers. In his teens he played with

Barry Harris Barry Doyle Harris (December 15, 1929 – December 8, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. He was an exponent of the bebop style. Influenced by Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell, Harris in turn influenc ...

. He later worked with the Heath Brothers, but

Percy Heath Percy Heath (April 30, 1923 – April 28, 2005) was an American jazz bassist, brother of saxophonist Jimmy Heath and drummer Albert Heath, with whom he formed the Heath Brothers in 1975. Heath played with the Modern Jazz Quartet througho ...

disliked his style, leading to arguments and to Copeland quitting. During his musical career, Copeland played with Sam Jones,

Billy Taylor Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the a ...

Johnny Griffin John Arnold Griffin III (April 24, 1928 – July 25, 2008) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Nicknamed "the Little Giant" for his short stature and forceful playing, Griffin's career began in the mid-1940s and continued until the month of ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, Rory Stuart, George Russell, and

Hank Jones Henry Jones Jr. (July 31, 1918 – May 16, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians have described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts h ...

. He also led his own European-based groups, including one with Irish bassist Ronan Guilfoyle. Copeland taught at The New School University in New York City, Rutgers, and Berklee College of Music before moving to Germany in 1992 and teaching in the Hochschule system. His students include

Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets (band), ...

, Darren Beckett and Adam Cruz.

Discography

Source:

As leader

* ''On Target'' (Jazz Mania, 1993) * ''The Irish Connection'' ( SteepleChase, 1996) * ''Round Trip'' ( SteepleChase, 1997) * ''Postcard from Vancouver'' (Jazz Focus, 1998)

As sideman

With

Howard Alden Howard Vincent Alden (born October 17, 1958) is an American jazz guitarist born in Newport Beach, California. Alden has recorded many albums for Concord Records, including four with seven-string guitar innovator George Van Eps. Early life Ho ...

* ''Misterioso'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the ...

, 1991) With Ben Besiakov * ''You Stepped Out of a Dream'' ( SteepleChase, 1990) With

Paul Bley Paul Bley, Order of Canada, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a Canadian jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live per ...

* '' BeBopBeBopBeBopBeBop'' ( SteepleChase, 1990) With

Joshua Breakstone Joshua Breakstone (born July 22, 1955) is an American jazz guitarist. Breakstone came into contact with the music business early in life through his parents and siblings. His sister was a lighting technician at the Fillmore East theater, where ...

*'' Echoes'' (

Contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

, 1987) *'' Evening Star'' (

, 1988) *''Sittin' on the Thing with Ming'' (

Capri Capri ( , ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. A popular resort destination since the time of the Roman Republic, its natural beauty ...

, 1993) *''Remembering Grant Green'' (Evidence, 1993) *''The Music of Bud Powell'' ( Double Time, 2000) *''Tomorrow's Hours'' (

, 2002) With Charles Brown * ''All My Life'' ( Bullseye Blues, 1990) With

Chris Conner Christopher Ryan Conner (born December 23, 1983) is an Americans, American former professional ice hockey winger (hockey), winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Early life Conner grew up in Westland, Michigan and attended Winst ...

* ''As Time Goes by'' ( Enja, 1992) With Stanley Cowell * ''

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'' ( SteepleChase, 1989) * ''Departure #2'' ( SteepleChase, 1990) * ''Hear Me One'' ( SteepleChase, 1996) With Meredith d'Ambrosio * ''The Cove'' ( Sunnyside, 1988) * ''Love Is Not a Game'' (Sunnyside, 1991) With

John Dankworth Sir John Phillip William Dankworth, CBE (20 September 1927 – 6 February 2010), also known as Johnny Dankworth, was an English jazz composer, saxophonist, clarinettist and writer of film scores. With his wife, jazz singer Dame Cleo Laine, he ...

* ''Echoes of Harlem'' (Compendia, 1988) With

Stanton Davis Stanton Davis, Jr. (born November 10, 1945, New Orleans) is an American jazz trumpeter and educator. Davis studied at the Berklee College of Music (1967–69) and the New England Conservatory (1969–73), and served as program director for MIT's ...

* ''Brighter Days'' (Outrageous Records Incorporated, 1977) With Frank Foster and the SDR Big Band * ''A Fresh Taste of the Blues'' (Intercord, 1996) With Hugh Frasier/ Jean Toussaint Quartet * ''Back to Back'' (Jazz Focus, 1998) With David Gazarov * ''Autumnal Giant Steps'' (Episode Records, 1994) With

Al Grey Al Grey (June 6, 1925 – March 24, 2000) was an American jazz trombonist who was a member of the Count Basie orchestra. He was known for his plunger mute technique and wrote an instructional book in 1987 called ''Plunger Techniques''. Car ...

* ''Christmas Stockin' Stuffer'' (

, 1992) With

*'' Return of the Griffin'' (

Galaxy A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...

, 1978) With

Johnny Hartman John Maurice Hartman (July 3, 1923 – September 15, 1983) was an American jazz singer, known for his rich baritone voice and recordings of ballads. He sang and recorded with Earl Hines' and Dizzy Gillespie's big bands and with Erroll Garner. ...

*'' Once in Every Life'' (

Bee Hive A beehive is an enclosed structure which houses honey bees, subgenus '' Apis.'' Honey bees live in the beehive, raising their young and producing honey as part of their seasonal cycle. Though the word ''beehive'' is used to describe the nest of ...

, 1980) With the Heath Brothers * ''In Motion'' ( Columbia, 1979) With Sam Jones * '' The Bassist!'' (Interplay, 1979) With Mark Kirk * ''Lavender Mist'' (Jazz Mania, 1993) with Steve Gilmore With Ann Malcolm * ''Incident'ly'' (Sound Hills Records, 1994) With

Susannah McCorkle Susannah McCorkle (January 1, 1946 – May 19, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Life and career A native of Berkeley, California, McCorkle studied Italian literature at the University of California at Berkeley before dropping out to move to ...

* ''I'll Take Romance'' (

, 1992) With Sandy McLeod * ''Conversations with Love'' (CGM, 2003) With Jackie Paris * ''Nobody Else but Me'' (

Audiophile An audiophile (from + ) is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. The audiophile seeks to achieve high sound quality in the audio reproduction of recorded music, typically in a quiet listening space in a room with ...

, 1988) With Bill Pierce * ''Complete William the Conqueror Sessions'' ( Sunnyside, 1995) With Mike Richmond * ''Dance for Andy'' ( SteepleChase) (1989) With Bob Rockwell * ''Shades of Blue'' (SteepleChase, 1996) With

Charlie Rouse Charlie Rouse (April 6, 1924 – November 30, 1988) was an American hard bop tenor saxophonist and flautist. His career is marked by his collaboration with Thelonious Monk, which lasted for more than ten years. Biography Rouse was born in Wash ...

*'' The Upper Manhattan Jazz Society'' (Enja, 1981

985 Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theophanu and her mother-in-law Adelaide at an ...

with

Benny Bailey Ernest Harold "Benny" Bailey (August 13, 1925 – April 14, 2005) was an American jazz trumpeter. Biography A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Bailey briefly studied flute and piano before turning to trumpet. He attended the Cleveland Conserva ...

With George Russell * '' Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature'' (

Soul Note Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1980) * ''

So What So What may refer to: Law *Demurrer, colloquially called a "So what?" pleading Music Albums * So What (Anti-Nowhere League album), ''So What'' (Anti-Nowhere League album) or the 1981 title song (see below), 2000 * ''So What?: Early Demos and L ...

'' (

Blue Note Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue no ...

, 1987) With Perico Sambeat * ''Uptown Dance'' (EGT, 1992) With Larry Schneider * ''Just Cole Porter'' ( SteepleChase, 1991) * ''Blind Date'' ( SteepleChase, 1992) * ''Freedom Jazz Dance'' ( Steeplechase, 1996) With Jurgen Seefelder * ''Naide'' (Westwind Records, 1996) With Louis Smith * ''Ballads for Lulu'' (SteepleChase, 1990) * ''Once in a While'' (SteepleChase, 2000) With Rory Stuart * ''Hurricane'' ( Sunnyside, 1986) With

* ''Where've You Been?'' (

, 1981) With Chris Walden * ''Ticino'' (ACT, 1996) With Chris White * ''The Chris White Project'' (Muse, 1992) With Martin Wind * ''Gone with the Wind'' (September, 1993) with Bill Mays * ''Tender Waves'' (A Records, 1995)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copeland, Keith 1946 births 2015 deaths American jazz drummers Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln Queens College, City University of New York faculty Rutgers University faculty The New School faculty Jazz musicians from New York (state) American male drummers Drummers from New York (state)