Jazz Articles about Mike Soper

About Mike Soper

Album Review

Leader di questo progetto è la pianista e compositrice britannica Claire Cope, che ha debuttato cinque anni fa con l'album Small World. Il suo organico ha acquisito un respiro orchestrale passando da sette a undici componenti (con nuovi ottoni e ance) e sostituendo alcuni membri originari. La conferma più significativa è quella della vocalist Brigitte Beraha, che contribuisce a mantenere l'identità stilistica della formazione, anche se il merito principale è ovviamente dovuto alle composizioni e agli arrangiamenti della ...

Album Review

Claire Cope: Every Journey

Read "Every Journey" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
April 28, 2025

Consider British pianist, composer/ bandleader Claire Cope. She debuted as a fully formed artist via her excellent septet set Small World (Self Produced, 2020), a deftly crafted classical/jazz hybrid. On her second recording, the album at hand, Every Journey, she employs an eleven-piece ensemble, building on the atmosphere of her debut, painting translucent layerings and weaving a loose net of textures into gorgeous, expansive soundscapes. With composer-bandleader Maria Schneider as a major touchstone, Cope creates luminous arrangements. She cites Schneider's ...

Album Review

Billy Marrows And Grande Familia: The Penelope Album Live

Read "The Penelope Album Live" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
April 15, 2025

In 2024 London-based guitarist and composer Billy Marrows formed a 12-piece chamber-jazz ensemble. Together as Billy Marrows and Grande Familia, they released their debut album, Penelope (Self Produced), in memory of Marrows' mother, Penny. This deeply personal project used tunes he had written during her battle with cancer. The band featured Marrows' musical friends and relations playing in various formats: as a 12-piece ensemble, in smaller combinations and Marrows' solo guitar pieces. The project was used to raise funds for ...

Album Review

Billy Marrows and Grande Família: Penelope

by Neil Duggan
April 14, 2024

London-based guitarist and composer Billy Marrows brings us a new 12-piece chamber-jazz ensemble, Grande Família. It is a family affair with members of his extended family and a wider circle of close friends and musical associates making up the group. Their debut album, Penelope, is released in memory of Marrows' mother, Penny. Most of the music was written by Marrows as a surprise for his mother during her battle with cancer. All proceeds go to World Child Cancer, a charity ...