Chance Meeting
Friday December 5th, 2025 with Heavy Ben
Beverly Glenn-Copeland (Ottawa live performance!)

Chance meeting on a keyboard fantasy of a call from Japan and a transmission A decade ago, when Beverly Glenn-Copeland was 70, nobody was paying attention. His 1970 LP appealed to jazz collectors for its ace musicians: Lenny Breau, Doug Riley, Terry Clark, Don Thompson and Jeremy Steig. Folk and jazz-funk EPs from 1970 and 1983 languished in obscurity. A cassette from 1986 sold a few dozen copies. "Bev" was known for working on Mr. Dressup, Sesame Street, and backup vocal credits on Bruce Cockburn records. However, as a black trans man, he never fit in with the heteronormative music industry or the world of children's television. Fast forward 30 years. As if by divine intervention, Japanese record collector Ryota Masuko contacted Copeland in 2015. This set in motion a singular decade that culminates in tonight's performance by Beverly Glenn-Copeland with his partner Elizabeth and Ottawa's queer choir Tone Cluster. Opening the show will be singer-songwriter Izzy Rose. This is going down at the Bronson Music Theatre from 7-10pm. https://www.debaser.ca/event/beverly-glenn-copeland-and-elizabeth-copeland "Keyboard Fantasies" is the name of the cassette from 1986. Copeland sent 30 tapes to Japan. Masuko sold them all, then asked for the remaining dead stock. Suddenly, this private recording from 30 years ago was hot on the internet. Within two months, 10 record labels knocked on Copeland's door. Toronto's Invisible City Editions and Séance Centre pressed "Keyboard Fantasies" on vinyl for the first time. Copeland performed live for the first time in decades in 2017. In 2018, I presented a 2-hour profile of Beverly Glenn-Copeland on Heavy Friends. That was the first time his music was played on CKCU. He was on the cusp of being discovered. That program includes words of wisdom and insights from an interview and covers music from 1970 to 2017. Special Black History Month profile on Beverly Glenn-Copeland (Heavy Friends, 2018-02-17) https://cod.ckcufm.com/programs/410/36311.html In the 8 years since, even more "first times" have ensued: international touring, recording with young pop artists, remix projects, and artists performing Copeland's compositions. Over the next hour we'll hear what Beverly Glenn-Copeland has been up to via music from 12 contemporary releases. Tonight is a rare opportunity as it is the first time that Beverly Glenn-Copeland is performing in Ottawa. He will be 82 next month and has a late form of dementia. In the words of Elizabeth Copeland, "Yes, we’re coming into the decay phase of life but when you watch the leaves turn from green to orange, often the decay phase can be the most beautiful." https://beverlyglenncopeland.com/ https://beverlyglenn-copeland.bandcamp.com/music https://pitchfork.com/artists/beverly-glenn-copeland/ https://exclaim.ca/music/article/beverly_glenn_copeland_interview_timeline https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/oct/17/musician-beverly-glenn-copeland-on-trans-rights-cult-stardom-and-living-with-dementia (to embiggen the show icon, right-click and choose "Open image in new tab")