Entre Amigos Set to Release Third Album Featuring Justin Copeland

ENTRE AMIGOS UNVEILS THIRD ALBUM JOYFUL FOUNDATION: THE MUSIC OF JUSTIN COPELAND

SAXOPHONIST ROY MCGRATH, PIANIST HANA FUJISAKI, BASSIST KITT LYLES, AND DRUMMER GUSTAVO CORTIÑAS COLLABORATE WITH TRUMPETER JUSTIN COPELAND ON A PROGRAM OF ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS

OUT MARCH 27 VIA ENTRE AMIGOS RECORDS

After their self-titled debut in November 2024 and Magpie: The Music of Joe Clark this past June, Chicago-rooted ensemble Entre Amigos returns with Joyful Foundation: The Music of Justin Copeland, releasing March 27 via Entre Amigos Records. The album marks the third chapter in the quartet’s evolving project of shared authorship and community building, this time featuring trumpeter, composer, and educator Justin Copeland on a program split evenly between his original compositions and new works by members of the ensemble.

Copeland’s path has been shaped by both rigorous training and an unmistakable sense of optimism. Originally from Fresno, California, and now based in the Portland, Oregon area, he has spent over fifteen years performing across the United States and internationally, with appearances in Mexico, Canada, Cuba, and England. He earned his B.A. in Music Performance from California State University, Fresno in 2011 and his M.M. in Jazz Studies from Northwestern University in 2013, later pursuing a D.M.A. in Jazz Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. It was during his eight-year tenure in the Chicago area that his musical path intertwined closely with Roy McGrath, Hana Fujisaki, Kitt Lyles, and Gustavo Cortiñas, through shared scenes, collaborations, and bandstands.

During that time, Copeland performed alongside an array of world-renowned artists, including Victor Goines, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Branford Marsalis, Doc Severinsen, Solange Knowles, and Kurt Elling. In 2017, he won First Place in the Yamaha Jazz Division of the National Trumpet Competition and was selected as a finalist for the Carmine Caruso International Jazz Trumpet Competition. In February 2020, Copeland was chosen as one of just thirty candidates worldwide to audition for the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, performing for and alongside Ambrose Akinmusire, Wayne Shorter, and Herbie Hancock.

Joyful Foundation expands on Entre Amigos’ commitment to playing the music of friends. Following Magpie, which presented a full program of compositions by trumpeter and arranger Joe Clark, this latest release continues the group’s practice of featuring peers from the scene—a deliberate effort to foster community and collaboration. The difference this time is authorship: the album’s eight tracks alternate between Copeland’s compositions and new works by members of Entre Amigos, creating a dialogue between voices rather than a singular portrait.

The arrangements are dynamic and explore the broad range of timbres and orchestration available within the quintet. Copeland’s compositions reflect his interest in rhythmic variety and lush harmonic color. The opener “Ride” features rich counterpoint between the horns while the rhythm section plays a Baião rhythm. “Remembrance” is an episodic composition that moves from a rubato introduction to improvisations in an open funk context.

Fujisaki’s “Probability” is an up-tempo swinger where every musician gets to stretch, with strong solos delivered across the board. McGrath’s “Fue Nuestro” is a beautiful ballad with rich harmony that moves slowly through dark and bright colors. The album concludes with Cortiñas’s “Valley of 1000 Devils,” an exuberant and exploratory composition that gives the players a freer structure. McGrath and Copeland deliver an inspired duo improvisation on the closing track.

Each musician’s compositional voice is distinct, yet the contrast between them creates both a cohesive narrative and variety within the album. Copeland’s trumpet adds a new dimension to the ensemble—lyrical, incisive, and grounded in a profound sense of optimism. As with Entre Amigos’ previous releases, the music is rooted in friendship, mutual respect, and the belief that joy itself can be a structural force.

This third chapter further solidifies Entre Amigos not as a static ensemble, but as a living, expanding community—one that celebrates the music of friends, shaped by friends, and offered outward with generosity and purpose.

Joyful Foundation: The Music of Justin Copeland releases independently on March 27, 2026.

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Track Listing:

1. Ride
2. Probability
3. Fleeting Magic
4. Fue Nuestro
5. Joyful Foundation
6. Several Clear Moments
7. Remembrance
8. Valley of 1000 Devils

Entre Amigos is: Roy McGrath – tenor sax Hana Fujisaki – piano Kitt Lyles – bass Gustavo Cortiñas – drum set

Featuring: Justin Copeland – trumpet

All music written by Entre Amigos, Roy McGrath, Hana Fujisaki, Kitt Lyles, Gustavo Cortiñas, and Justin Copeland

Hana Fujisaki, Kitt Lyles, Justin Copeland, Gustavo Cortiñas & Roy McGrath
Courtesy of Entre Amigos Records

Source: Lydia Liebman Promotions