Koptor

Koptor is lead by Canadian drummer/composer and now Copenhagen resident Kevin Brow. This debut self-titled album has established Koptor as one of the most interesting new bands in Canada and one that is quickly becoming known on both sides of the Atlantic. The album features all original compositions by Brow, which are said to be - Intelligent compositions with a great base to improvise on and even if the groove is not simple there is always a constant flow.

The music is built upon openness, lyrical melodies, twisting grooves and improvisations that are propelled by Brows lyrical drumming and the fiery playing of three of New Yorks most in demand young musicians pianist Jacob Sacks, bassist Eivind Opsvik and saxophonist Rob Mosher. Upon listening to this album one can get a sense of the known, unknown and the unexpected. The listener is both pulled in and challenged by a blend of simplicity and complexity that flows in a cascading and fluid nature.

Tracklist

Album details

Press reviews

"Koptor is the debut recording of Canadian-born, Copenhagen-based drummer Kevin Brow. Accompanied by a group of like-minded peers, including multi-reedist Rob Mosher, pianist Jacob Sacks and ubiquitous bassist Eivind Opsvik, Brow leads his quartet through a program of modern jazz originals that ripple with emotion.

Brow's nuanced writing expands in scope beyond conventional time signatures and traditional harmonies to embrace inside/outside sonorities and popular music conventions. His unadorned melodies, direct harmonies and fluctuating rhythms draw similarities to the populist writing of fellow band mates Eivind Opsvik and Jacob Sacks. Eschewing edgy post-modern aesthetics, these pieces explore a variety of subtle angles with an easygoing demeanor that avoids extremes in dynamics and genre in favor of a nuanced, highly focused approach.

The album's dozen tunes drift effortlessly from one to another, unfolding like an extended suite. Unified by an overriding melodic sensibility, the compositions veer from spry post bop (Maske I Overmorgen and Outer Spokes Center Hole) and expansive tone poems (How Does Water Flow and Jeg Gjorde Det I Forgars) to pointillist balladry (Imaginary Lines). Understated does not preclude passion however. Underground reveals a visceral side; the tune escalates from a bittersweet theme riding a languorous groove into a furious collective improvisation that climaxes with caterwauling frenzy.

The session culminates in the three part New Koptor suite, which further reinforces the album's cohesive sensibility with an excursion into subtle melodic variations and unexpected detours in tempo. Mosher's plangent horn cadences and Sacks' spare piano flourishes glide over Opsvik's resonant bass pulses as the leader unveils an array of percolating rhythms informed by simmering funk accents and soulful rock backbeats.

An impressive debut from an up and coming artist, Koptor is deceptive in its simplicity as it reveals myriad layers during repeated listens."

Troy Collins - All About Jazz
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Koptor by Canadian drummer Kevin Brow is in some ways similar to film
noir at times overcast, others times bursts of vividness, flowing in music that is stylistically intriguing. But there is plenty of substance here with clarity and definition, imprinting music that incorporates detailed compositions and free invention.
Convincingly hip, thoughtfully astute, the music is the sound of modern jazz without its constraintsswing with and without the typical time signatures, unexpected solos in and out of the pocket and interlocking themes such as the "New Koptor" suite based upon Brow's geographical music influences from New York, Copenhagen, and Toronto.

With all original material Brow's music is expressed by an exceptional band, names synonymous with leadership in improvisational music: bassist Eivind Opsvik, pianist Jacob Sacks, and Rob Mosher on saxophone and English horn. Each brings something special to the table and serves up impressive performancesSacks' free flight spiral on "How Does Water Flow," Mosher's evocative alto sax in the dramatic "Jeg Gjorde Det I Forgars," or Opsvik's glutinous and sinewy bass throughout each piece.

An accomplished technician, yet one with heart and fire, Brow's drumming is the recording's pulse, one that oscillates within various lively patterns. With deft scissoring he provides not only the backbeat but also complex rhythms in "Maske I Overmorgen." On "Outer Spokes Center Hole," he navigates dual movements between straight and oblique lines as the music reinvents itself. A spotlight shines on Brow's trap work on the curtain call of "Kobs Mejkr," an intricate and developing drum solo that is richly detailed with several qualities while the band gradually builds upon the tune's mysterious path.

A rhythmic sweet spot can be found in "Underground," a tune girded by Opsvik's uncomplicated bass and Brow's stealthy cadence that gives Mosher and Sacks the freedom to explore new ideas. It is that fine qualitythe ability to become like elastic glue, stretching yet holding the musicthat makes Brow a noteworthy drummer.

Mark Turner -All About Jazz