String Theory – Anthony Pinciotti – Marc Copland – Mark Feldman – Drew Gress

Marc Copland and Mark Feldman need little or no introduction – veterans of the NY and European jazz scenes, they have contributed enormously to the development of jazz for years. Both former members of John Abercrombie’s quartet at different periods (ECM Records), they finally played together in 2022 and 2023 with European and American performances and recording sessions in France and Germany.

The two have a remarkable way of weaving the colours of their instruments together, creating and blending textures rarely heard when a violin is incorporated into a jazz group. Both players are comfortable with modern approaches to improvisation as well as the traditional roots of jazz.

Recorded over two sessions at the studios of Fattoria Musica (Italy) and La Buissonne (France), Copland and Feldman are supported by two different rhythm sections; veteran bassist Drew Gress and the late jazz and rock drummer Anthony Pinciotti who passed away in 2025 and to whom this album is dedicated. Support for the second session comes from a younger European team, Felix Henkelhausen on bass and Jonas Burgwinkel on drums.

The program spans standards – ‘Greensleeves’ (traditional), ‘Afro Blue’ (Mongo Santamaria), ‘Alone Together’ (Arthur Schwartz), and ‘Nardis’ (Miles Davis) – alongside original compositions by Marc Copland and bassist Drew Gress. Copeland’s ‘The Sun at the Zenith’ takes its title from a Sartre text against the French occupation of Algeria.