Keith Copeland


Keith Copeland was a jazz drummer and music educator.

Career

His father, Ray Copeland, was a jazz trumpeter, and he learned by watching him, but he decided to play drums after studying Art Blakey's records with The Jazz Messengers.
In his teens he played with Barry Harris. He later worked with the Heath Brothers, but Percy Heath disliked his style, leading to arguments and to Copeland quitting.
During his musical career, Copeland played with Sam Jones, Billy Taylor, Johnny Griffin, Stevie Wonder, Rory Stuart, George Russell, and Hank Jones. 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, Darren Beckett and Adam Cruz.

Discography

Source:

As leader

  • On Target
  • The Irish Connection
  • Round Trip
  • ''Postcard from Vancouver''

    As sideman

With Howard Alden
  • Misterioso
With Ben Besiakov
With Paul Bley
  • BeBopBeBopBeBopBeBop
With Joshua Breakstone
  • Echoes
  • Evening Star
  • Sittin' on the Thing with Ming
  • Remembering Grant Green
  • The Music of Bud Powell
  • Tomorrow's Hours
With Charles Brown
With Chris Conner
With Stanley Cowell
  • Sienna
  • Departure #2
  • Hear Me One
With Meredith d'Ambrosio
With John Dankworth
  • Echoes of Harlem
With Stanton Davis
  • Brighter Days
With Frank Foster and the SDR Big Band
With Hugh Frasier/Jean Toussaint Quartet
  • Back to Back
With David Gazarov
With Al Grey
  • Christmas Stockin' Stuffer
With Johnny Griffin
With Johnny Hartman
  • Once in Every Life
With the Heath Brothers
  • In Motion
With Sam Jones
  • The Bassist!
With Mark Kirk
With Ann Malcolm
  • Incident'ly
With Susannah McCorkle
  • I'll Take Romance
With Sandy McLeod
  • Conversations with Love
With Jackie Paris
  • Nobody Else but Me
With Bill Pierce
With Mike Richmond
  • Dance for Andy
With Bob Rockwell
  • Shades of Blue
With Charlie Rouse
With George Russell
  • Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature
  • So What
With Perico Sambeat
  • Uptown Dance
With Larry Schneider
  • Just Cole Porter
  • Blind Date
  • Freedom Jazz Dance
With Jurgen Seefelder
  • Naide
With Louis Smith
  • Ballads for Lulu
  • Once in a While
With Rory Stuart
  • Hurricane
With Billy Taylor
  • Where've You Been?
With Chris Walden
  • Ticino
With Chris White
  • The Chris White Project
With Martin Wind