The long haul Al Copley is in too deep — and likes it that way BY BOB GULLA

Al Copley may be from Rhode Island, but he has the wisdom of someone who has seen the world, both literally and figuratively. The Roomful of Blues co-founder and boogie-woogie pianist calls Europe his home now, and the Westerly native has benefited from his wideen perspective.

"I remember what Count Basie said to Roomful once," he recalls. "He knew when to build you up and when to put you down. At the time, one of our horn players said, ‘I quit! This sucks!’ And Basie said to him, ‘How can you quit when you ain’t done nothin’ yet? You’re in this too deep to quit.’ And he was right. We’re in too deep."

Copley, who left the US in 1984 after leaving Roomful, made the jump based on a contact he made with one record executive. He had sent demos to 37 people, and only one responded: Willy Leiser. "At the time, Willy was in charge of the Montreux Jazz Festival," says Copley. "He ended up becoming my manager."

Since then, Copley, who this week released Jump On It, his first album in 10 years, has managed to do the same thing in Europe and elsewhere that Roomful do in the States: kindle a full-on love for R&B and jump blues. "I made up my mind when I was 16 when the piano looked at me and winked. I left a band that was making a lot of money to make music with Roomful. I left everything behind."

Copley left everything behind again when he journeyed to Europe. You can’t say the man don’t follow his heart. Overseas, Copley truly excelled. Check this out: He embarked on a solo career that resulted in releases like 1986’s A Handful of Keys and 1989’s Automatic Overdrive. Copley joined guitarist Jimmie Vaughan for a series of prestigious gigs (12 sold-out shows!) at the Royal Albert Hall in England opening for Eric Clapton. He struck up a friendship with Clapton, which led to his opening several shows for Clapton in 1997. Copley was a member of the original Blues Brothers (with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd), performed at the first Montreux Japan Jazz Festival with George Duke and McCoy Tyner, and played a boogie-woogie duet with Leonard Bernstein for Bernstein’s 65th birthday. Copley has also guested on releases by the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Eddie C. Campbell, and Duke Robillard. Copley, a massive Cannonball Adderly fan, continues to perform solo, duo, trio, and with his sextet.

"Musicians who think they make music have got it backwards," he says with the wisdom of an Oriental sage. "It’s music that makes musicians. If you aren’t true to that, you’re gonna die. If you put money first, ask any hooker, is there ever enough?"

Jump On It is available only at Al’s website, alcopley.com, or by e-mailing info@alcopley.com

BIG NOISE AT THE GRAMMYS. Al Gomes, the man who presides over Big Noise Records, has some news he’d like to share. It seems that he and partner A. Michelle have worked a little magic with the Grammy ballot — they’re newish NARAS (National Association of the Recording Arts and Sciences) members and they were able to place some local acts in positions of prominence. For example, Maasai, and the Dino Club — Mark Cutler, Bob Giusti, Scott Duhamel, Emerson Torrey and Mike Tanaka — have found a spot on the first-tier ballot for the 46th Annual Grammy Awards. This means they are under consideration for the final nominations in a few weeks. The categories for which they’re being considered: Record of the Year, "Drinking In the Afternoon"; Album of the Year for Hey! Drink Up; Best New Artist; and Best Rock Album, among several other categories. As far as Cutler is concerned, he’s pleased as punch: "I’ll be Sancho Panza to his Don Quixote any day. We have absolutely nothing to lose. To have a believer like Al is a priceless thing. We all know the reality of the situation and we’ll take this ride as far as we can. God bless Al. I’m glad he had the balls to do this!"

I spoke with Al about how he managed such an impressive coup.

Q: Why did you join the Academy?

A: The idea for joining the Academy began with a conversation with a friend who is a Boston concert promoter and is also a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences. She felt that our work and our past accomplishments would meet the criteria for membership. The Academy’s membership committee reviewed the applications and our history and we qualified for the level of membership with full voting and nominating powers. I’m thrilled we were accepted because ultimately, it now gives us a chance to get the artists we believe in the recognition they deserve.

Q: What is the nominating procedure?

A: As members with nominating privileges, we had the opportunity to submit releases deemed of high artistic worth that have been released from October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2003. We also could make suggestions as to which categories each artist would fit best into, and then a panel of music industry experts decides if they agree with our suggestions.

We submitted four artists to the Grammy Awards nominating committees in July, including the Dino Club and Maasai. It’s a lengthy application process. You’ve got to make sure each release meets certain criteria. It took about a week — filling out the paperwork and lots of phone calls. Amazingly, from the thousands of entries the board received, all four of the artists we submitted were placed on the first-tier ballot.

Q: What do you think the chances are to make the final ballot?

A: I believe each one of the four artists that we’ve helped get to this point has amazing odds of getting chosen as one of the final five nominees in any of the categories they’ve made it into. All voting members have received their ballot and have 10 days to turn it around. Filling out the ballot is a good deal of work on the part of a member. I believe that full participation in this part of the process — the first-tier ballot — is the most important as a member and can have the most impact.

Artists can contact Al at Big Noise at 274-4770, or e-mail algomes@bignoisenow.com

Wandering Eye. Thursday (the 6th) at the Call brings the latest installment of the venue’s series of cool indie rock gigs. Glorious Monster, straight outta Olneyville will headline, along with International Penpal, led by Pat Healy, and Boston-roots rockers Georgia Overdrive. The music starts at 9:30 p.m. and the cover is only $4.

On Friday (the 7th) ’round the corner at the Century Lounge you can find another excellent bill for a Timothy James Hatfree presentation. Outside the Box, the Nines, Big John Tierney and the Truth, and Rufus will be playing. It’s 18-plus and the cover is a pittance, $5.

On Saturday (the 8th) at 10 p.m., Chinese Stars, Human Host (from Baltimore, ex-Charm City Suicides) and the Digs (garage rock) will play AS220. The Stars are, of course, arisen from the ashes of Arab On Radar and Six Finger Satellite, whose local music contribution, sorely missed, now seems but a very distant memory.

This Friday, Routine 8 hits Sha-Na-Na’s in Warwick along with a rockin’ lineup including Tunneldrill, Sulfer, and Essence of Green.

Fungus Amongus has been busy on the weekends lately. This Saturday, they’ll hit the classy J.R. Beans in Bristol for two sets. Next Saturday (the 15th), the band will play a 9 p.m. set at the Living Room opening for Psychedelic Breakfast.

E-mail me at big.daddy1@cox.net