Keith Copeland

Keith Lamont Copeland (* 18th April 1946 in New York City , New York ; † 14 February 2015 in Frankfurt am Main ) was an American drummer of Modern Jazz , who from 1992 to 2011 as a professor of jazz percussion at the University of Music Cologne was active.

Live and act

Keith Copeland, son of Ray Copeland , began taking drum lessons at the age of 10 and began playing as a professional musician at the age of 15. At the age of 17 he joined the US Air Force . When he was 22, he was fired and went to Boston to study at Berklee College of Music .

From 1975 to 1979 he worked there as a music teacher , then for a long time exclusively as a musician from New York. In the mid-1980s he resumed teaching and taught at Long Island University , Rutgers University (from 1985 to 1992) and also at Queens College and New School University in New York. In 1992 he was appointed professor of jazz drums in Cologne, but between 1993 and 1999 he also worked at the University of Music Mannheim / Heidelberg .

In 2005 Copeland suffered a stroke from which he recovered, but which forced him to reduce his teaching activities and appearances significantly.

Copeland had engagements with Stevie Wonder , Billy Eckstine , Cab Calloway , Helen O'Connell , Eartha Kitt , Attila Zoller , George Russell , Paul Bley and Johnny Griffin, among others . He can be heard as a companion on over 100 albums and has released five albums under his name.

Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .

↑ Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music donaldclarkemusicbox.com, February 14, 2015 (accessed February 18, 2015).
↑ On the death of the drummer Keith Copeland in FAZ on February 19, 2015, page 13
↑ Tom Lord : The Jazz Discography

personal data
SURNAME	Copeland, Keith
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Copeland, Keith Lamont (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American jazz drummer and music teacher
DATE OF BIRTH	April 18, 1946
PLACE OF BIRTH	New York City , New York
DATE OF DEATH	February 14, 2015
Place of death	Frankfurt am Main