Jack Cooper (musician)

Jack Cooper

Jack Cooper, 2002
Background information
Birth name John Thomas Cooper, Jr.
Born May 14, 1963
Whittier, California
Origin United States
La Habra, California
Genres Jazz
Classical
Pop
Occupation(s) Multireedist, composer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor, music director, producer, educator
Instruments Saxophones
Clarinets
Flutes
Years active 1981-
Labels Summit
Centaur
Select-O-Hits
Planet Arts
Origin
Associated acts The Jazz Knights
Warner Brothers Publishing
Alfred Music Publishing
Notable instruments
Saxophone
Clarinet

Jack Cooper (born John Thomas Cooper Jr., May 14, 1963, Whittier, Ca.) is an American composer, arranger, orchestrator, multireedist, and music educator. He has written music for pop, jazz, and classical artists including Aaron Neville,[1] Joyce Cobb,[2] Donald Brown,[2] Alexis Cole, Jimi Tunnell, Tony Campise, Bobby Shew,[3] Christian McBride,[4] the Westchester Jazz Orchestra,[5] the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors, the Dallas Wind Symphony,[6] and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. His catalogue of music includes jazz through contemporary classical; he has worked for Columbia Pictures Publishing, Warner Brothers, and Alfred Music as a staff arranger since 1993.[7]

Early life, musical education and influences

Jack Cooper was born in Whittier, California on May 14, 1963, he was raised in nearby La Habra. He is the younger brother of artist and stylist Cathy Cooper and also the grandson (x4) of Mrs. Harriet Blanton Theobald, “Mother of Greenville.”[8][9] His mother, Georgie Cooper, was an accomplished classical pianist and he served as her page turner on piano and organ jobs.[10] His father was an amateur clarinet and sax player who gave Cooper his first instruments. First musically inspired by clarinetist Artie Shaw at age eleven, he later was taken by Charlie Parker's playing on the alto sax from his dad's 78's; he took up the flute in college.[11][12][13]

After graduating from Sonora High School and having first studied with Ernie Del Fante, Cooper attended Fullerton College where he studied composition and arranging with Tom Ranier and saxophone with Dave Edwards and Don Raffell.[14] While at Fullerton College he recorded on the Down Beat award winning LP, Time Tripping playing saxophone and woodwinds in FC's collegiate jazz groups. He later transferred to California State University, Los Angeles where he received a B.A. in Music education and clarinet in 1987 having studied with Vito Susca. Cooper also studied jazz composition with and was heavily influenced by Stan Kenton's former staff arranger Bob Curnow. "Since college, when I first began studying big band musical arrangements, (I) wanted to orchestrate for jazz ensembles."[15] Two years later he completed a M.A. in composition at C.S.U.L.A. and had studied with Byong-Kon Kim, William H. Hill, and David Caffey.[16] Cooper was classmates at C.S.U.L.A. and worked closely with both Eric "Bobo" Correa and Grammy winning trombonist Luis Bonilla. He has collaborated closely on several musical projects over the last 20 years with Bonilla with the most recent one being Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra.[17]

Later composition studies were with David Baker, Gerald Wilson,[18] Manny Albam, Karl Korte, and Richard Lawn; in 1999 he earned a D.M.A. in composition from the University of Texas at Austin.[19][20]

His first notable professional work in Los Angeles as a multireedist was with the Kingsmen, Shari Lewis, Mateos Parseghian, the Tak Shindo Orchestra, Si Zentner, Steve Jam, the Dive, and the Last Mile.[7]

Armed forces and the West Point Jazz Knights

At age 25 (in 1989) Jack Cooper won an audition to work as a saxophonist and staff arranger for the United States Army Jazz Knights stationed at West Point, 40 minutes north of New York City.[21] For 6 years he toured, performed, and recorded extensively with the West Point Band's musical group to include A&E television appearances at the Hatch Memorial Shell with the Boston Pops, jazz festivals across the Northeastern United States, backing entertainers and jazz artists such as Bob Newhart, Lee Greenwood, Pete Yellin, Chris Vadala, Byron Stripling, and playing on and writing for demos and studio recordings.[7] He participated in the funeral of former President Richard M. Nixon in April 1994;[22] he was awarded the Army Commendation and Achievement medals while also rising to the rank of staff sergeant.

During this period in New York through 1995 he worked extensively backing other entertainers and artists such as Tony Martin, The Lettermen, Clint Holmes, Fred Travalena, Dennis Wolfberg, and worked as arranger and saxophonist for 3 years with the band Alma Latina.

Professional career

As instrumentalist

Cooper has played woodwind instruments professionally since the 1980s. His work includes backing Jennifer Holiday, Kenny Rogers, Macy Gray, Manhattan Transfer, Glen Campbell, Mitch Ryder (and Detroit Wheels) and playing woodwinds on national tours for the Producers, Sweet Charity, and A Chorus Line among many others.[7] He is known primarily as a "lead alto player," a role he has played for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, the Guy Lombardo Orchestra, and the Temptations.[23][24] He has also been a featured guest artist/soloist at the Western States Jazz Festival,[25] the Birmingham International Jazz and Blues Festival (U.K.),[26] the 45th International Horn Symposium,[27] and the Festival Virtuosi (2007) in Recife, Brazil.[28]

Cooper has been a featured artist and soloist with the Hot Springs Festival Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and the IRIS Symphony Orchestra.[29][30] He is amongst a small group of musicians who have a playing career being able to cross over from jazz to classical to pop on several woodwind instruments.

As composer (highlights)

Cooper has served as a composer and arranger on more than 150 works since first writing music in the early 1980s, including solo instrumental pieces all the way through full symphonic works for orchestra and singers.[31] His writing style has been described as "propulsive and sassy on an initial listen, revealing subtle shadings and intricate nuances upon repeated listening. I might have guessed Don Sebesky...on a blindfold test."[32]

He was hired in 1992 as a staff arranger for Columbia Pictures Publishing/Belwin; his television and media music writing credits include the The Jenny Jones Show, Danish Radio 2 (DR P2), E! Entertainment shows, Access Hollywood, JBVO: Your All Request Cartoon Show, American Restoration, Deal or No Deal, and Extra.[33] His music has been featured at numerous venues around the world to include the North Sea Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival.[34]

Since December 1998 he has been the musical director, composer and chief arranger for the Jazz Orchestra of the Delta; in 2003 they produced the CD Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter featuring Cooper's original compositions and arrangements. Singer Sandra Dudley is utilized as the primary singer for the group. The CD includes commissions he had written for Gary Foster and Peter Erskine; Marvin Stamm serves as the guest soloist on this release.[7] He also serves as the musical director and chief arranger for Kathy Kosins and her show Rhapsody in Boop.

Serving as both composer and musical director, in February 2006 Cooper collaborated with choreographer Mark Godden to produce the ballet Two Jubilees.[7] His musical influence on the ballet as composer and musical director was praised: critic Christopher Blank commented, "...if one were to consider a title that better unified the program's two very different ballets, a fitting substitute would be 'Jazz Orchestra of the Delta,' or even just the word 'Cooper.' Performing live for the dancers, the excellent 17-piece ensemble founded by Jack Cooper...was a marvelous treat midway through the ballet's (sic) season..."[15][35]

Though his catalogue has a great deal of varied music, his work emphasizes the big band genre.[15] His big band writing has been featured with many groups internationally on the professional and educational levels, "...this style of jazz music (sic) is my wheel house of expertise."[18][36] Two definitive CDs were recording in 2014 that exemplify Cooper's adeptness as a jazz orchestra composer and arranger: Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra and Time Within Itself. Both are recognized internationally as exceptional examples of contemporary big band composition and orchestration.

Chamber and solo works

His Sonata for Trombone was commissioned in 1997 by the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity at the University of Texas at Austin. This work has been performed by trombone artists including Luis Bonilla, Tom Brantley, Mark Hetzler, Lance Green, Chris Buckholtz, and Michael Davidson[37] (among others). A review of Sonata for Alto Saxophone described it as belonging with "such landmark 'jazz/classical' pieces as the Phil Woods Sonata, on any recital or concert program that explores (both) these worlds."[38] The work was commissioned by Paul Haar and first premiered in July 2000 at the 12th World Saxophone Congress in Montreal, Canada.

One of the Missing - for those lost in Iraq for euphonium was commissioned in 2007 and premiered in 2008.[39] It is a protest piece that shows the composer's anti-war stance against the Iraq War; the title is taken from the anti-war/Civil War short story and film adaptation of Ambrose Bierce.[40] The work was also used on the soundtrack of a 2011 Canadian television film broadcast on the Vision network.[41]

Awards and special recognition

Jack Cooper is the 2010 recipient of the Distinguished Achievement in the Creative Arts Award from the UMAA.[42] He was chosen in 2003 as a nominee for the annual NARAS Premier Player Awards and also was awarded a $10,000 grant from the Aaron Copland Fund Recording Program that same year.[43][44] He is also the recipient of numerous ASCAP composer awards since 1996.[45] As a presenter he has been honored as the key-note speaker for the Modern Language Association and the scholar and main presenter for four different National Endowment for the Humanities series on American Music.[7]

Teaching and education career

Jack Cooper has been teaching at the collegiate level for over the past 18 years. Before his appointment to the University of Memphis as director of jazz studies 1998, he had taught privately and worked as a clinician for the U.S. Army Jazz Knights. He has served as an invited clinician, guest artist, and conductor for the Missouri All-State Collegiate Jazz Orchestra, the Tennessee All-State High School Jazz Ensemble, and the Arizona All-State High School Jazz Ensemble.[46] He also serves as an educational clinician/artist for Alfred Music Publishing making appearances at state educational music conventions throughout the United States.[7]

Musical compositions and arrangements

Audio Recordings

As instrumentalist

As composer, arranger, conductor, producer (and instrumentalist on select tracks)

Film, T.V., DVD, video

As instrumentalist/actor

As composer/arranger/conductor/musical director

Books, educational media, articles as reviewer

Other artists worked with (partial list)

Discography (select, reviewed)

Year Album Primary artist
producer
conductor
composer
arranger
instrumentalist 		Type Label U.S. Canada U.K. Review
Rating
1983 Time Tripping instrumentalist Studio Trend AM PM Down Beat
1st Place Winner
1988 Monstrosity! instrumentalist
composer		 # CSULA 888 Los Angeles Times
1994 Mainstream arranger Studio/Live FC Down Beat
1998 Games arranger UNI Down Beat

best CDs of the 1990s
2003 Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter Primary artist
producer		 Studio Summit JazzWeek
August 22, 2003
#88		 All About Jazz
Upside Out composer
(title track)		 Sea Breeze JazzWeek
February 6, 2004
#164		 All Music Guide
2004 Memphis Jazz Box producer
instrumentalist
composer
arranger		 Studio/Live Icehouse Commercial Appeal
2009 Coming Through Slaughter: The Bolden Legend instrumentalist Studio Galloping Cow Down Beat
2010 The Chamber Wind Music of Jack Cooper Primary artist
producer		 Centaur Fanfare Magazine
very positive
2014 Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra Primary Artist Planet Arts JazzWeek
October 6, 2014
#59		 Roots Music Report
October 26, 2014
#8 		BBC Radio 3
November 1, 2014
playlist choice		 All About Jazz

Chicago Tribune 2014 Top 10 Jazz
2015 Time Within Itself composer
arranger
conductor		 Origin Records JazzWeek
April 13, 2015
#71		 All About Jazz

See also

References

  1. ↑ Cannon Center for the Performing Arts, September 30, 2011, The Shadow of Your Smile arranged for orchestra by Jack Cooper for Aaron Neville
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sparke, Jon W. BPACC Showcase flows in with tribute to Ellington, The Commercial Appeal, 28 August 2009. Jack Cooper, musical director/arranger for Joyce Cobb and Donald Brown
  3. ↑ Shew, Jazz Orchestra Bring Out Best in Each Other. Austin American-Statesman, 28 April 1997, pp. E3, Music for Shew by Jack Cooper, also on the 2001 CD Showcase
  4. ↑ McBride stresses work, luck, Austin American-Statesman, 1 April 1997, Page E2. Music for McBride by Jack Cooper, also on the 2009 CD Voices
  5. ↑ The Westchester Jazz Orchestra, commissioned work and premiered Sept. 24, 2005
  6. ↑ Scene for Brass commissioned by the Dallas Wind Symphony and premiered on September 14, 2004
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Alfred Music biographical page
  8. ↑ Jack Cooper's mother is Georgie Blanton Finlay Cooper from Greenville, Mississippi who is direct lineage to Harriet Blanton Theobald
  9. ↑ Blanton-Smith Collection, University of Mississippi. Department of Archives and Special Collections. University, MS 38677, USA
  10. ↑ Georgie Cooper discography at Discogs - biography page.
  11. ↑ Focus on the Arts WUMR Radio interview with D.J. Malvin Massey (reviewed from recording), talking about Cooper's background in music, February 2004
  12. ↑ Cooper's adeptness as a clarinetist is demonstrated on "Memphis Blues" and "Tiger Rag" from the CD release Ninety Years of Making Music in Memphis: The University of Memphis
  13. ↑ Cooper adeptness on the alto sax is demonstrated on his composition "The Protagonist" on Youtube
  14. ↑ Alumni Biographical page, Fullerton College Music Department
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Blank, Chistopher. Ballet Memphis takes a jazzy step -- Choreographer Mark Godden swings to a new set of beats by Big Band jazz arranger Jack Cooper. The Commercial Appeal, 10 February 2006.
  16. ↑ Cooper, Jack. "Solace" a Three Movement Composition for Saxophone Soloist and 18 Piece Jazz Orchestra. Los Angeles: California State University, 1989. M.A. THESIS
  17. ↑ April 4, 2014, recording completed at Systems Two Recording in Brooklyn, New York of Cooper's 8 adaptations/orchestrations of Charles Ives music, Luis Bonilla producer. Released August 22, 2014 on the Planet Arts Records label
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Gerald is 95 now, I had studied with him in Los Angeles...", Jack Cooper. interview with Kacky Walton, Checking on the Arts, Natl. Public Radio, WKNO-FM, Memphis, 9 October 2013.
  19. ↑ Alumni Biographical page (jazz), The University of Texas, Butler School of Music
  20. ↑ Cooper, Jack T. Three Sketches for Jazz Orchestra Inspired by Charles Ives Songs. University of Texas at Austin, 1999. Thesis (D.M.A.) OCLC 44537553
  21. ↑ Department of the Army Enlistment and Honorable discharge records from Cooper, Jack T., orders 196-1 dated 30 November 1989 and orders 33-5, dated 22 February 1995
  22. ↑ CSPAN, funeral of Richard Nixon, April 1994
  23. ↑ Lover Man, The Memphis Jazz Orchestra, Jack Cooper, solo/lead alto sax, 2 June 2013.
  24. ↑ WREG-CBS, Live at Nine T.V. broadcast, Cooper playing lead alto on Summer Wind
  25. ↑ Western States Jazz Festival, Los Angeles, CA. clarinet and composer - guest artist on main concert, 1 March 2013
  26. ↑ Cooper featured with the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra, Fat Chops Big Band, Great Birmingham Trombone Company, 6-9 July, 2013
  27. ↑ 45th Annual Symposium of the International Horn Society, Tribute to John Graas Concert, 31 July 2013, 1:00 pm - 2:30
  28. ↑ Festival Virtuosi, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
  29. ↑ Ellis, Bill. Ma, Stern Resonate Far Beyond The Musical Score, The Commercial Appeal, 20 September 2000. Cooper - alto saxophone and clarinet soloist, IRIS Orchestra
  30. ↑ Sparks, Jon W. ‘Nut ReMix’ brings energy to new Cannon Center setting The Commercial Appeal, 23 November 2014. Cooper - tenor saxophone soloist on Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker adaptations, MSO Big Band
  31. ↑ Please refer to list of published works in article
  32. ↑ McClenaghan, Dan. All About Jazz, review, June 25, 2003
  33. ↑ IMDb Listing, Jack Cooper, also refer to Double Helix
  34. ↑ UNI Jazz Ensemble Band One, playing The Cage (arr. Jack Cooper) at the North Sea Jazz Festival, 10 July 1998
  35. ↑ Blank, Christopher. Spirit of jazz sets stage for tribute -- Ballet premieres divergent pieces, The Commercial Appeal, 13 February 2006.
  36. ↑ Yokohama Aoba Jazz Band Japan and Big Band de Sarreguemines France are examples of international groups using Cooper's music.
  37. ↑ Sonata for Trombone, Eastern Trombone Workshop, 16 March 2011, Washington D.C., Michael Davidson - trombone soloist
  38. ↑ Dempsey, David. Sonata for Saxophone, Saxophone Journal, Jan./Feb. 2012, pp 14
  39. ↑ One Of The Missing, ITEA International Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, 2008
  40. ↑ Today, section 2.2.4 of Euphonium Repertiore, Wikipedia - The Free Encyclopedia
  41. ↑ Teens Gone Wrong, Volume 1,, T.V. series Vision of Youth Ministry, VisionTV 2011
  42. ↑ 2010 recipient of the Distinguished Achievement in the Creative Arts Award
  43. ↑ Ellis, Bill. Premier Player Awards To Honor, The Commercial Appeal, 1 March 2003
  44. ↑ 2003, Planet Arts Recordings, New York, NY, Works of Charles Ives interpreted for jazz orchestra by Jack Cooper: $10,000
  45. ↑ Connors, Jennie. Four U of M Music Professors Awarded ASCAP Awards, the Daily Helmsman, 9 September 2003
  46. ↑ Hot House arr. Jack Cooper- 2012 Arizona All State Jazz Band conducted by Jack Cooper
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 47.3 47.4 47.5 47.6 47.7 47.8 Allmusic Guide, credits, Jack Cooper
  48. ↑ Swingopoly at Discogs
  49. ↑ Enriching Life With Jazz CD, Love For Sale, arr. Jack Cooper (4:51) OCLC 774893336
  50. ↑ Bowers, Jack. Review, All About Jazz, May 8, 2012
  51. ↑ Peanuts for Christmas - Die Big Band Der Lübecker Hochschulen, released 4. December 2012, MP3 CD, Winter Wonderland, arr. Jack Cooper (4:25)
  52. ↑ MISTS: Charles Ives Music for Jazz Orchestra, all tracks arranged by Jack Cooper
  53. ↑ Sounds of the Season CD, "Oh Holy Night" arranged by Jack Cooper
  54. ↑ The Michael Waldrop Big Band, Jack Cooper - musical director - Tunnell Vision from 'Time Within Itself' on YouTube
  55. ↑ Time Within Itself, Origin Records 82690
  56. ↑ Jack Cooper-solo tenor sax
  57. ↑ Experiencing jazz Students CD ROM, McGraw Hill. Content on website for Routledge Publishing OCLC 68712015 and 764304925
  58. ↑ U or Memphis School of Music, UOM137-FY1112/3M
  59. ↑ Baur, John. Practical Music Theory, Chapter 19 - analysis of Jack Cooper's arrangement of What a Wonderful World, Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. 2014. pp. 287-289, ISBN 978-1-4652-1790-5

External links