Francis Coppieters

Pianist Francis Coppieters recorded as early as 1943 with Roger Rose et son Orchestre de L'Heure Bleue. In 1949, he records 4 tracks for an album with Toots Thielemans & the "Quartet du Hot Club de Belgique", with Toots on guitar, Jean Warland on bass and John Ward on drums. The same year, he is a member of the Jack Sels Big band. In 1952, he can be heard on a Jacques Pelzer recording; in 1953, with Buck Clayton and the orchestra of Mickey Bunner, and also with René Thomas, Bobby Jaspar and Jacques Pelzer. In Germany, bandleader Kurt Edelhagen, who had heard him with Hazy Osterwald, hires him in April 1957 to join the Kurt Edelhagen Big Band, with his friend Jean Warland on bass, Stuff Combe on drums, Jimmy Deuchar on trumpet, saxophonists Derek Humble, Jean-Louis Chautemps, Eddie Busnello, etc... He becomes one of the composers of the band (besides Francy Boland, Rob Pronk, Heinz Kiessling und Bora Rokovic. etc...) In 1957, he appears on the album "Kurt Edelhagen Presents" (recorded July 10-13, 1957 in Cologne, Germany, Polydor LPHM 46052), with the participation of Milo Pavlovic, Fritz Weichbrodt, Dusko Gojkovic (tp), Jimmy Deuchar (tp, arr), Ken Wray, Helmut Hauck, Manfred Gatjens, Christian Kellens (tb), Derek Humble (as,arr), Franz von Klenck (as), Bubi Anderhold, Jean-Louis Chautemps (ts), Eddie Busnello (bars), Francis Coppieters (p, arr), Johnny Fischer (b), Stuff Combe (d, arr), Kurt Edelhagen (ld), Heinz Gietz, Rob Pronk (arr). In 1958, he appears with the Edelhagen band on singer Caterina Valente's album "A Toast to the girls" (Polydor LPHM 46074, reissued as Decca DL 8755). He spent thus most of the following years of his career in Germany, playing the piano, writing, doing numerous studio sessions (a.o. in Cologne) for all kinds of ensembles. He played with numerous bands and soloists, such as the WDR big band, a.o. a production led by Friedrich Gulda, the band of drummer Klaus Weiss, Slide Hampton, Lucky Thompson, Wilton Gaynair, Jiggs Wiggham, etc... A complete musician, he appears and is the musical director of jazz bands, but also dance bands, operette orchestras, etc... In 1986, he records as a leader the album "Colours In Jazz" (Intersound ISST 184) with a.o. Klaus Weiss on drums. He also appears on the compilation CD "Between or beyond the Black Forrest". He taught jazz piano at the Kölner Musikhochschule. He wrote in German a theory book on piano improvisation (available via Schott) : Francis Coppieters / Carlo Bohländer (Publisher): "Anleitung zur Improvisation Piano". Francis Coppieters died after a long illness in Germany in the nineties. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.