Album Notes

THE JAZZ IN ME marks the return to original jazz music by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Eric Copeland. After releasing albums of his own in the 90's, including the funky, synth jazz "Cooler" and the seminal, laid back "Stolen Moments", Copeland began producing albums for national and international artists full-time. In the past few years though, Copeland began retooling some older songs he had written for other artists (My Steps Are Ordered, Come to Me), new takes on classic hymns (Softly and Tenderly, Just As I Am), polishing up a few he had previously released (Have Thine Own Way), and writing new tunes that defined his current place in life (In Between Dreams, On the Side). The result is THE JAZZ IN ME.

All this has been accompanied in the last few years by a sudden and intense need to study jazz history, and dive deeper into why jazz is such an important part of his life. THE JAZZ IN ME is more than a new CD, it's the result of study, prayer, and hours of listening, playing, and talking about jazz.

"I've found that my love for jazz is deeper than just a genre or niche my music happens to fall under. The elements that make up jazz: improvisation, composition, rhythm, melody, structure, harmony, repetition...these are things that are part of EVERYTHING I do, not just music. And then the history of jazz is just a fascinating and, historically speaking, relatively recent ascension of a whole new music, that like classical before it, has it's own forefathers: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, etc."

"There is also my whole passion for Christian music, and trying to bring something different to the table there. God gave me quite different gifts and thought processes than other musicians, producers, and writers. I think it has taken this far in my life to see how and where my personal music, blending jazz and gospel, fits in. But I believe there is plenty to say about God in the context of jazz, that I could make CDs for a lifetime and never get it all out. THE JAZZ IN ME is a step in that direction."