Search - Marc Copland :: Stompin With Savoy

I'm the first?

D. Bartholome | Highlands, TX USA | 03/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm shocked to be the first to review this album. It's one of Copland's best, I think. Like many pianists who tend to be ruminative and meditative, he does better when he has a good rhythm section giving him a little kick. Add some great horn players (Randy Brecker and the late Bob Berg), some great arrangements (by Copland, I believe), and some sublime playing by Copland, and you have a very special listening experience. That rhythm section, by the way, consists of Dennis Chambers and James Genus. If you are into modern jazz piano, and you haven't heard Marc Copland, you really need to check him out. Just for sloppy shorthand, I tell my friends he's like an updated Bill Evans. Largely because he's been slavishly imitated by so many, Bill Evans sounds to many modern ears like an advanced cocktail pianist. Not so with Marc Copland. His harmonies are more modern, more astringent, but he is always lyrical and melodic, and never exhausts your ear with prolonged episodes of dissonance. (By the way, don't be misled by the silly title for this album; you'd think it was some ultra-trad jazz! It's just a reference to the label for which this music was recorded.)"