JAMES COPUS - Dusk
Ubuntu UBU0058
James Copus - trumpet, flugelhorn, voice; Tom Cawley - piano; Conor Chaplin - bass; Jason Brown - drums
James Copus has already established quite a reputation as one of the most accomplished, forward thinking and hard working young trumpeters in the UK today, and for once it would be fair and accurate to describe this debut album as ‘eagerly awaited’. He’s assembled a killer band of top musicians for this programme of original compositions - Chaplin and Cawley are among the UK;s finest and international standard players in their own right, but the biggest coup of all is the securing of the services of the mighty Jason Brown on drums. Brown is best known as drummer for Ambrose Akinmusire, who currently heads the list of influential contemporary trumpeters in the USA or anywhere else: employing his services is an indication of the project’s ambition, and comparisons with his other celebrated employer are inevitable. Copus, however, is definitely his own man, and this is a very carefully conceived and executed affair with plenty of originality on display alongside the awesome levels of chops and energy. Opening track “Early Hours’ shows the expected influence of Kenny Wheeler in its compositional style and general atmosphere of airy melancholy, and Copus’ clear, precise, pitch perfect delivery is reminiscent of Wheeler’s own. Jason Brown’s contribution raises the general energy level, there are some punchy fusion-style written unisons for the rhythm section, and Tom Cawley contributes some memorable solo improvisations, as he does throughout. Copus is a hell of a player but holds back on the obvious high-note-specialist fireworks in favour of a precise approach that gives every note its true value, building his melodic lines with a powerful logic. ‘The Line’ has some dizzyingly accurate unisons, but really takes off when Cawley deploys his tastefully configured banks of synths to provide some grandiose sweeping textures. The title track has Copus’s own unaffected vocals, drifting over a rock backbeat to create a poignantly proggy atmosphere that’s quite different from Akinmusire’s approach, or indeed anyone else’s. ‘From The Source’ continues the fusion mood with a tightly written rhythm track and big synth textures, ‘Straight Ahead’ connects back with the swing tradition for some stimulating post-bop, and ‘Yearning’ gives the awesome Chaplin space to shine. This is a really outstanding release of cutting-edge, international quality contemporary jazz that aims high and lands squarely on target every time.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
Ubuntu UBU0058
James Copus - trumpet, flugelhorn, voice; Tom Cawley - piano; Conor Chaplin - bass; Jason Brown - drums
James Copus has already established quite a reputation as one of the most accomplished, forward thinking and hard working young trumpeters in the UK today, and for once it would be fair and accurate to describe this debut album as ‘eagerly awaited’. He’s assembled a killer band of top musicians for this programme of original compositions - Chaplin and Cawley are among the UK;s finest and international standard players in their own right, but the biggest coup of all is the securing of the services of the mighty Jason Brown on drums. Brown is best known as drummer for Ambrose Akinmusire, who currently heads the list of influential contemporary trumpeters in the USA or anywhere else: employing his services is an indication of the project’s ambition, and comparisons with his other celebrated employer are inevitable. Copus, however, is definitely his own man, and this is a very carefully conceived and executed affair with plenty of originality on display alongside the awesome levels of chops and energy. Opening track “Early Hours’ shows the expected influence of Kenny Wheeler in its compositional style and general atmosphere of airy melancholy, and Copus’ clear, precise, pitch perfect delivery is reminiscent of Wheeler’s own. Jason Brown’s contribution raises the general energy level, there are some punchy fusion-style written unisons for the rhythm section, and Tom Cawley contributes some memorable solo improvisations, as he does throughout. Copus is a hell of a player but holds back on the obvious high-note-specialist fireworks in favour of a precise approach that gives every note its true value, building his melodic lines with a powerful logic. ‘The Line’ has some dizzyingly accurate unisons, but really takes off when Cawley deploys his tastefully configured banks of synths to provide some grandiose sweeping textures. The title track has Copus’s own unaffected vocals, drifting over a rock backbeat to create a poignantly proggy atmosphere that’s quite different from Akinmusire’s approach, or indeed anyone else’s. ‘From The Source’ continues the fusion mood with a tightly written rhythm track and big synth textures, ‘Straight Ahead’ connects back with the swing tradition for some stimulating post-bop, and ‘Yearning’ gives the awesome Chaplin space to shine. This is a really outstanding release of cutting-edge, international quality contemporary jazz that aims high and lands squarely on target every time.
Reviewed by Eddie Myer
