Album Notes

Mike recently recorded a duo CD in Toronto, “This is Spring”, with Toronto native, pianist Gordon Webster www.gordonwebster.com .It was recorded at the Loach Engineering Studio. This recording features Mike on flugelhorn and trumpet.
Mike is currently teaching music at the Harley School in Rochester, NY, and teaches jazz trumpet and small
groups at the Eastman School of Music summer high school jazz camp. He was an interim professor of jazz
trumpet at the Eastman school for the 1999/2000 school year. Mike has performed throughout the U.S., Europe,
and Japan. From 2001 through 2005 he was been a member of the faculty at the annual Seminario de Jazz, in Barcelona, Spain.
He has been associated with the “Taller de Musics” school in Barcelona since 1983 and recorded there
with the group “ONIX”. Among others, he has performed with Jorge Rossy, Ben
Monder, Mark Murphy, Gary Bartz, Luciana Souza, Joe Locke, Bruce Barth, and Ray Charles. He can be
heard every Friday evening at the Stathallan Hotel in Rochester with pianist Bill Dobbins. He is performing
at the Barcelona Intl Jazz Festival on December 1, 2007 in a tribute to the late Spanish jazz pianist
Tete Montoliu.

Gordon Webster, piano

Gordon Webster, a native of Toronto, has been living in New York City for the past three years. He is a
1999 graduate of the University of Toronto and received his master’s degree in jazz piano from the
Manhattan School of Music in 2006. He has performed throughout Canada and the U.S. In addition to his
recording with Mike Kaupa, he has recorded as a side-man on numerous projects, including one with
his brother, tenor saxophonist Michael Webster. His latest recording is entitled "Blues Till Dawn" and is available at CD Baby.

From a review in the International Trumpet Guild Journal...

On this CD, Kaupa plays in duet with Pianist Gordon Webster. Kaupa proves there is great local talent, no matter the community in which one lives. Currently teaching at the private Harley School and gigging in the Rochester, NY area, Kaupa is one of those artists deserving wider attention. Self-produced, THIS IS SPRING contains nine standards and two Kaupa originals, all of which prove his tone on flugelhorn is as dark and rich as anyone could ever hope to have. On trumpet, his dexterity is inspiring. Highlights include the Rogers and Hart, SPRING is HERE where Kaupa uses as much airy tone as nature will allow to dig deeply into the heart of the implied lyric. Webster's support is tempo rubato to the extreme and shades Kaupa's subtle nuances as colourfully as any Monet painting. Together the two artists meander down a leisurely path for seven minutes, but you could never know it from the artful manner in which they skilfully honor the conversational empathy in the best jazz tradition. Other highlights include a subtly kicking rendition of ALL THE THINGS YOU ARE, where Kaupa uses Gordon's deft scampering through substitute chord-laden changes to bring in hip dragged-rhythms in a uniquely clever manner. Kaupa's own WALTZ FOR DIANA shimmers in varying hues of blues-accentuated lines not usually associated with triple meter. This disc is well worth checking out. (Thomas Erdmann, professor of music, Elon University, Elon, NC)


On February 2nd, 2008, Mike will be the soloist in a
new composition for large jazz group and solo trumpet
funded by the New York State Council on the Arts. The
piece, "Cycles Suite" by Chris Jentsch
(www.chrisjentsch.com) will be premiered at 8:00PM at.

The Kitchen
512 W. 19th st.
New York, New York 10011