Jazz Articles

Benjamin Koppel: White Buses: Passage To Freedom

by Doug Collette
December 28, 2023

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 ...

Anders Koppel: Mulberry Street Symphony

by Doug Collette
March 9, 2022

A father-son collaboration at its most sublime, Mulberry Street Symphony is a natural and logical extension of saxophonist/composer Benjamin Koppel's eclectic sets of funk and free improvisation The Ultimate Soul & Jazz Revue (Cowbell Music, 2020) and The Art of the Quartet (Cowbell Music, 2020). The prolific Dane wisely aligns himself here with redoubtable counterparts in the persons of bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade to form the core of a larger musical aggregation including the Odense Symphony Orchestra ...

Hans Ulrik / Benjamin Koppel / Jon Balke / Palle Danielsson / Alex Riel: The Adventures of a Polar Expedition

by Jakob Baekgaard
October 6, 2010

The exploration of arctic landscapes has always fascinated mankind, and both paintings and literature testify to man's longings for the icy unknown. However, few musicians have tried to translate the adventures of the arctic explorers into sound. Danish saxophonist Benjamin Koppel's ambitious The Adventure of a Polar Expedition sets out to right that wrong. Divided into four suites that each portrays a polar explorer and his journey, suite one, “Time and Ice Suite," sets the general mood ...

Benjamin Koppel featuring Phil Woods and the Alex Riel Trio: Pass the Bebop

by Ken Dryden
July 11, 2007

Even though Phil Woods jokes at every opportunity that, “Emphysema is nature's way of telling you that you're playing too fast, the alto saxophonist still brings a special touch to any recording date, as he remains one of the most inventive improvisers on his instrument with a sound that is always recognizable within a few seconds. Woods is also no stranger to playing in small groups with a second altoist, having recorded a number of sessions with Gene Quill and ...

Benjamin Koppel: Hammond Street

by Mark F. Turner
January 27, 2007

With the popularity of Hammond B-3 organ-based recordings, it's becoming hard to differentiate one from another. Ever since the patriarchal organ sounds of Jimmy Smith's hot greased soul and Larry Young's smooth sophistication, the organ combo has flourished. Copenhagen alto saxophonist Benjamin Koppel offers his spin on the idiom with Hammond Street. Koppel is a versatile and gifted player who has led ensembles in jazz, crossover and classical music. He's an alto stylist with a tone similar ...

Santa Cruz: Cruzing

by Mark F. Turner
November 13, 2006

After a 25-year hiatus, one of Europe's premier fusion bands, Santa Cruz, reunited at the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 2005 and demonstrated to the enthusiastic crowd that its music was still as energetic as ever. The Danish quartet, led by drummer Alex Riel, delivered the retro sounds of '70s and '80s fusion, comprised of equal parts harmony, arrangements and heady improvisation. At a concise 41 minutes, the recording still packs a huge punch, with stimulating performances and ...

Benjamin Koppel featuring Phil Woods: Pass The Bebop

by Michael P. Gladstone
November 7, 2006

Danish alto saxophonist Benjamin Koppel has always been inspired by the bebop masters. When altoist Phil Woods was in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2005, Koppel invited the American legend to join him and the Alex Riel Trio in a recording session. Koppel supplied seven original bebop tunes, while Woods selected two standards, “How High The Moon" and “Autumn Leaves," for the session.

Woods just celebrated his 75th birthday. He could very well be the hardest working jazz musician in ...