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Benjamin Koppel: Story of Mankind - A Requiem

by Alberto Bazzurro
Il cinquantenne altosassofonista e compositore danese Benjamin Koppel riunisce in questo ambizioso doppio album un altrettanto ambizioso settetto per dar vita a un'opera di grande respiro in cui colpisce anzitutto la ferrea ripartizione fra brani ampi (i dispari) e brevissimi (i pari), che fungono in qualche modo da ricapitolazione, per voce (detta) e piccoli inserti strumentali. Il tutto dota il lavoro di un respiro--un tono, un andamento, un ordine--particolare, all'interno di una struttura assai ferrea che abbina una ...
Continue ReadingPhil Woods, Pat Metheny & Benjamin Koppel

by Joe Dimino
From a celebrated veteran musician and author from Denmark, we begin the 861st Episode of Neon Jazz with Benjamin Koppel and music from his 2023 album White Busses. From here, we get into a legend Benjamin spent quality time with in Phil Woods. As the hour ensues, we hear great new music from Ray Brown, Jo Harrop, Jon De Lucia and Anthony Branker. In between, we hear from new players including Alexa Torres and Emiliano Lasansky. Finally, we bring it ...
Continue ReadingKoppel, Blade, Koppel: Time Again

by Glenn Astarita
This multi-generational trio featuring the Danish father/son team of Benjamin Koppel (alto sax) and Anders Koppel (organ), alongside ace drummer Brian Blade, is a decidedly forward-looking affair. But it also pays homage to classic jazz's boundless joy and irreverent spirit with a sly wink and more than a few joyous surprises. Blade's often explosive, polyrhythmic cyclone meshes seamlessly with Anders' bubbling organ articulations. Benjamin's alto sax work deftly rides the grooves while jabbing in unexpected angular asides, creating ...
Continue ReadingBenjamin Koppel: White Buses: Passage To Freedom

by Angelo Leonardi
Il sassofonista e compositore Benjamin Koppel è uno dei massimi jazzmen danesi: in trent'anni di carriera ha inciso più di sessanta dischi con i massimi nomi del jazz contemporaneo e il suo nome spicca per il trio con Scott Colley e Brian Blade e per il quartetto con Colley, Kenny Werner e Jack DeJohnette (The Art of the Quartet, Cowbell 2020). Questo progetto è stato registrato a New York coinvolgendo altri statunitensi (Uri Caine, Antonio Sánchez, Thana ...
Continue ReadingBenjamin Koppel: White Buses: Passage To Freedom

by Doug Collette
If saxophonist/composer/bandleader Benjamin Koppel has proven anything over the last few years, it is that he has no trouble finding sources of inspiration for his work. Whether it is just for the sake of blowing with a redoubtable rhythm section in the form of bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade on Perspective (Cowbell Music, 2023) or illustrating his own range of style with The Ultimate Soul & Jazz Revue (Cowbell Music, 2020) and The Art of The ...
Continue ReadingBenjamin Koppel & A Clean Feed Buffet

by Maurice Hogue
This episode focuses on several excellent new releases from Clean Feed Records (Mia Dyberg, Ned Rothenberg, Nataniel Edelman, Mikko Innanen, Grzegorz Tarwid, Simon Nabatov, Phillip Greenlief & Mercury) and presents several pieces from Danish saxophonist Benjamin Koppel's White Buses Passage To Freedom. Koppel's important and stunning album is his interpretation of a World War II event in Denmark involving concentration camp prisoners who were rescued by the White Buses of the Swedish Red Cross. Koppel composed his music around survivor ...
Continue ReadingBenjamin Koppel Plays Jazz with a Novelist's Narrative

by Lawrence Peryer