Cooper-Moore (born Gene Y. Ashton; August 31, 1946) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and instrument builder/designer based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Early life

At age 12, Cooper-Moore was recruited by community leaders to be the piano player for the town, and soon thereafter performed at church services and community functions. This is also the age when he heard musicians such as

Ahmad Jamal Ahmad Jamal (born Frederick Russell Jones, July 2, 1930) is an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and educator. For six decades, he has been one of the most successful small-group leaders in jazz. Biography Early life Jamal was born Fr ...

and

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...

, and was inspired to pursue jazz. He has cited pianist Jaki Byard's contributions to Mingus' band as a particular inspiration. He moved to Boston in 1967 to briefly attend Berklee College of Music. In Boston he connected with many musicians, some of whom became longtime collaborators, notably saxophonist

David S. Ware David Spencer Ware (November 7, 1949 – October 18, 2012) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. Biography Ware was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and grew up in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. While in high school he at ...

, drummer

Marc Edwards Marc or Mark Edwards may refer to: Marc Edwards * Marc Edwards (American football) (born 1974), American football player * Marc Edwards (professor) (born 1964), professor of civil and environmental engineering * Marc Edwards (drummer) (born 1949), ...

, Cleve Pozar, and

Juma Santos Juma Santos, also known as Jumma Santos (January 15, 1948 – September 1, 2007), born James P. Riley, was a percussionist and master drummer known for his extensive work over four decades with African music, Caribbean music, jazz, fusion and ...

. In 1970, he formed a collective trio, ''Apogee'', with Ware and Edwards.

Career

In 1973, the trio of Cooper-Moore, David S. Ware, and Marc Edwards moved to New York City and established a living and performance space at 501 Canal Street, which served as a home base for musicians including Ware,

Alan Michael Braufman Alan Michael Braufman (performing as Alan Braufman and Alan Michael); born May 22, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York, United States), is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist and composer. Early career Braufman graduated from Boston's Berklee Colleg ...

Jimmy Hopps James Edward Hopps Jr. (born 1939) is an American jazz drummer. Although he never recorded as a leader, he worked extensively with Roland Kirk, Charles Tolliver, Stanley Cowell, and Pharoah Sanders during some of their well known sessions. He also ...

, Tom Bruno, and

Ellen Christi Ellen Christi (born March 7, 1958, Chicago) is an American jazz singer. Christi studied music formally in New York City with Jaki Byard, Jeanne Lee, and Metropolitan Opera coloratura singer Galli Campi. She was a founding member of the New York ...

. Cooper-Moore's first commercial recording appearance was on Braufman's ''Valley of Search'' LP, released by India Navigation. Encouraged by Jimmy Hopps, Cooper-Moore began to design and build instruments, beginning with an ashimba, an 11-note xylophone made from discarded wood. In 1975, he returned to Virginia with his family. There he worked with bands from a variety of genres, continued to further develop an array of handmade instruments, and worked as an educator with the Head Start program. Upon his return to New York City in 1985, he changed his name to Cooper-Moore, derived from the surnames of his grandmothers. Cooper-Moore has performed and recorded with William Parker's In Order to Survive and Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra and Bill Cole's Untempered Ensemble. He established, recorded, and toured with Triptych Myth, a piano trio with

Tom Abbs Tom Abs (born 1972) is an American multi-instrumentalist and filmmaker. He works primarily in jazz, free jazz, and free improvisation, and plays double bass, tuba, cello, violin, didgeridoo, and wooden flute, often playing several instruments sim ...

and Chad Taylor. He has recorded and toured extensively with Digital Primitives, a trio with Chad Taylor and

Assif Tsahar Assif Tsahar (born Israel, June 11, 1969) is an Israeli tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist. He has lived in New York City since 1990. He has performed with Cecil Taylor, Butch Morris, William Parker, Mat Maneri, Hamid Drake, Peter Kowald, ...

. He has also collaborated with Daniel Carter in Parker's Organic Trio. He performs solo on piano and handcrafted instruments, with the Cooper-Moore Trio with Brian Price and Pascal Niggenkemper, and in Gerald Cleaver's Black Host. He has performed at the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...

, in a piano duo with John Blum in 1996, and a solo performance in conjunction with the Blues for Smoke exhibit in 2013. Outside of the jazz world, he has composed music for theater, including Rita Dove's "The Darker Side of the Earth" at the Guthrie Theater, "Feathers at the Flame" by

Laurie Carlos Laurie Dorothea Carlos (née Smith; January 25, 1949 – December 29, 2016) was an American actress and avant-garde performance artist, playwright and theater director. She was also known for her work mentoring emerging artists in the theater. ...

at The Kitchen, and "A Still Life" by Emily Mann. He has worked with dance troupes such as the Joan Miller Dance Players, Rod Rogers Dance Company, Marlies Yearby's Movin' Spirits Dance Theater, Koo Dance, and Judith Jackson. He has scored and composed music for movies, including Central Park: The People's Place an
Fireflies in the Abyss
He has worked with lyricists such as Laurie Carlos, Fred L. Price,

Carl Hancock Rux Carl Hancock Rux () is an American poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, recording artist, journalist, curator and conceptual installation artist working in text, dance, ritualized performance, audio, video, and photography. Described in the NY T ...

, and Arthur T. Wilson. In the 1990s he was the resident storyteller at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. He has toured extensively in Europe as well as the United States. Among the many instruments Cooper-Moore has built are a diddley-bow, a three-string fretless banjo, and a mouth bow. Cooper-Moore received the Lifetime Achievement award at the 2017

Vision Festival The Vision Festival is the world's premier festival of experimental music (typically free jazz/avant-garde jazz), art, film and dance, held annually in May/June on the Lower East Side of New York City from 1996 to 2011, in Brooklyn from 2012-2014, ...

in New York City. Cooper-Moore has said, "I have taken stuff out a dumpster to make an instrument which I have used at gigs. If you put me somewhere, and I had to play and didn't have an instrument, I'd get everything I needed and make an instrument within a few hours."

Discography

*''Solo: Deep in the Neighborhood of History and Influence'' (Hopscotch, 2001) *''Cooper-Moore, Assif Tsahar - America'' (Hopscotch, 2003) *''Cooper-Moore - s/t 5x7" box'' (50 Miles of Elbow Room, 2004); reissued as ''The Cedar Box Recordings'' (50 Miles of Elbow Room / AUM Fidelity, 2008) *''Cooper-Moore / Tom Abbs / Chad Taylor - Triptych Myth'' (Hopscotch, 2004) *''Outtakes 1978'' (Hopscotch, 2005) *''Triptych Myth -

The Beautiful Beautiful, an adjective used to describe things as possessing beauty, may refer to: Film and theater * ''Beautiful'' (2000 film), an American film directed by Sally Field * ''Beautiful'' (2008 film), a South Korean film directed by Juhn Jai-h ...

'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2005) *''Cooper-Moore / Assif Tsahar - Tells Untold'' (Hopscotch, 2005) *''Assif Tsahar / Cooper-Moore / Hamid Drake - Lost Brother'' (Hopscotch, 2005) *''Digital Primitives - s/t'' (Hopscotch, 2007) *''Digital Primitives - Hum Crackle & Pop'' (Hopscotch, 2009) *''Digital Primitives - Lipsomuch / Soul Searchin' '' (Hopscotch) *''Cooper-Moore - Solo Piano #2'' (self-released CD-R, 2017) *''Cooper-Moore - Looking Back #1'' (self-released CD-R, 2017) *''Cooper-Moore - Looking Back #2'' (self-released CD-R, 2017) With Alan Braufman *''Valley of Search'' (

India Navigation India Navigation was an American record company and independent record label that specialized in avant-garde jazz in the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded by Bob Cummins, a corporate lawyer who helped jazz musicians with legal matters. Its catalogu ...

, 1975) *''The Fire Still Burns'' (Valley of Search, 2020) With Gerald Cleaver's Black Host *''

Life in the Sugar Candle Mines ''Life in the Sugar Candle Mines'' is the debut album by Black Host, a free jazz quintet led by drummer Gerald Cleaver, who is joined by alto saxophonist Darius Jones, guitarist Brandon Seabrook, pianist Cooper-Moore and bassist Pascal Niggenkemp ...

'' (

Northern Spy Records Northern Spy Records is a record label in Brooklyn, New York that specializes in avant-garde music, noise rock, and experimental jazz. The label was founded by Tom Abbs and Adam Downey in 2010 after working for ESP-Disk. History Northern Spy is a ...

, 2013) With Bill Cole / The Untempered Ensemble *''Live in Greenfield, Massachusetts, November 20, 1999'' (Boxholder, 2000) *''Seasoning the Greens'' (Boxholder, 2002) *''Duets and Solos, Volume 1'' (Boxholder) With

Susie Ibarra Susie Ibarra (born Anaheim, November 15, 1970) is a contemporary composer and percussionist who has worked and recorded with jazz, classical, world, and indigenous musicians. One of SPIN's "100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music," she is kno ...

*''Radiance'' (Hopscotch, 1999) *''Flower After Flower'' (

Tzadik Records Tzadik Records is a record label in New York City that specializes in avant-garde and experimental music. The label was established by composer and saxophonist John Zorn in 1995. He is the executive producer of all Tzadik releases. Tzadik is a n ...

, 2000) With Darius Jones *'' Man'ish Boy (A Raw & Beautiful Thing)'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2009) With William Parker *''In Order to Survive'' (

Black Saint Records Black Saint and Soul Note are two affiliated Italian independent record labels. Since their conception in the 1970s, they have released albums from a variety of influential jazz musicians, particularly in the genre of free jazz. History Black S ...

, 1995) *''Compassion Seizes Bed-Stuy'' ( Homestead Records, 1996) *''Sunrise in the Tone World'' ( AUM Fidelity, 1997) *''

Mass for the Healing of the World ''Mass for the Healing of the World'' is a live album by American jazz double bassist William Parker & the Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra which was recorded live in 1998 but not released on the Italian Black Saint label until 2003. Recept ...

'' (

, 1998

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...

*''

The Peach Orchard The Peach Orchard is a Gettysburg Battlefield site at the southeast corner of the north-south Emmitsburg Road intersection with the Wheatfield Road. The orchard is demarcated on the east and south by Birney Avenue, which provides access tvario ...

'' ( AUM Fidelity, 1998) *''Posium Pendasem'' (FMP, 1999) *''

Mayor of Punkville ''Mayor of Punkville'' is a double live album by American jazz bassist William Parker and his Little Huey Creative Music Orchestra, which was recorded at Tonic in New York City in 1999 and released on the AUM Fidelity label. Reception In her r ...

'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2000) *''

Uncle Joe's Spirit House ''Uncle Joe's Spirit House'' is an album by American jazz double bassist William Parker, which was recorded in 2010 and released on the on Centering label. Reception In his review for AllMusic, arwulf arwulf states "Bassist William Parker's exc ...

'' (Centering, 2010) *''Wood Flute Songs'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2013) *''For Those Who Are, Still'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2015) *''Stan's Hat Flapping in the Wind'' (Centering, 2016) *''Meditation / Resurrection'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2017) *''Live / Shapeshifter'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2019) *''The Music of William Parker: Migration of Silence Into and Out of ihe Tone World (Volumes 1–10)'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2021) With Brandon Seabrook *''Exultations'' ( Astral Spirits) *''In the Swarm'' ( Astral Spirits) With Steve Swell *''

This Now! ''This Now!'' is an album by American jazz trombonist Steve Swell, which was recorded live in 2001 and released on Cadence Jazz. He leads the Unified Theory of Sound, a sextet with Jemeel Moondoc on alto sax, Matt Lavelle on trumpet, Cooper-Moore o ...

'' (Cadence Jazz Records, 2003) With

*''

Birth of a Being ''Birth of a Being'' is the first recording as a leader by American jazz saxophonist David S. Ware, recorded in 1977 and originally released on the Swiss Hat Hut label. The record presents a collective trio called Apogee with pianist Cooper-Moore ...

'' (Hat Art, 1979) *''

Planetary Unknown ''Planetary Unknown'' is an album by saxophonist David S. Ware which was recorded in 2010 and released on the AUM Fidelity label. Reception In his review for AllMusic, arwulf arwulf said "Anyone who knows and loves modern creative improvised mu ...

'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2011) *''David S. Ware / Cooper-Moore / William Parker / Muhammad Ali - Planetary Unknown: Live at Jazzfestival Saalfelden 2011'' ( AUM Fidelity, 2012) *''Birth Of A Being xpanded' ( AUM Fidelity, 2015) With Stephen Gauci *''Studio Sessions Vol. 1'' (GauciMusic) *''Conversations Vol. 1'' (577 Records) *''Conversations Vol. 2'' (577 Records) With George Carver *''George Carver - The Modern Agriculture - God the Mother'' (Shrub Music) With Eric Siegel *''Engine, Shriek, and a Bell'' (1999)

References

External links

Cooper-Moore Music

Cooper-Moore
at All About Jazz
Interview with Cooper-Moore
at 50 Miles of Elbow Room {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper-Moore 1946 births American jazz pianists American male pianists American jazz composers People from Virginia Living people 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from Virginia 21st-century American pianists American male jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians AUM Fidelity artists