Ammonium ylides derived from the Cu (II)-catalyzed decomposition of α-diazo carbonyls tethered to tertiary amines underwent a benzylic Stevens [1, 2]-rearrangement to give tetrahydroisoquinolines or benzazepines containing fused five-membered rings, a feature found in the cephalotaxus alkaloids. Model studies were also carried out toward the synthesis of lennoxamine, a member of the isoindolobenzazepine family of alkaloids. The ...