Jack Cooper (born John Thomas Cooper Jr., May 14, 1963) is an American

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 Def ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

, orchestrator,

multireedist A multireedist is a musician capable of performing on more than one reed instrument. Many reed instruments are similar enough that if a musician plays one, they are expected to be able to play the other. Examples of this are the oboe and Engli ...

, and music educator. He has performed with, written music for and recorded by internationally known pop,

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 ...

, and classical artists.

Intro

Cooper has performed with, written music for performed or recorded by internationally known pop,

, and classical artists including

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is a retired American R&B and soul singer. He has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. ...

, Marc Secara, Jiggs Whigham, the Berlin Jazz Orchestra,

Lenny Pickett Lenny Pickett (born April 10, 1954) is an American saxophonist and musical director of the ''Saturday Night Live'' band. From 1973 to 1981 he was a member of Tower of Power. He is known for his skill in the altissimo register (executed by using ...

, Joyce Cobb, the BBB featuring Bernie Dresel, Donald Brown, Young Voices Brandenburg, Jimi Tunnell,

Christian McBride Christian McBride (born May 31, 1972) is an American jazz bassist, composer and arranger. He has appeared on more than 300 recordings as a sideman, and is an eight-time Grammy Award winner. McBride has performed and recorded with a number of j ...

, the Westchester Jazz Orchestra, the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors, the Dallas Winds, and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.Sparke, Jon W. ''BPACC Showcase flows in with tribute to Ellington'',

The Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, als ...

, August 28, 2009. Jack Cooper, musical director/arranger for Joyce Cobb and Donald Brown

Early life, musical education and influences

Jack Cooper was born in

Whittier, California Whittier () is a city in Southern California in Los Angeles County, part of the Gateway Cities. The city had 87,306 residents as of the 2020 United States census, an increase of 1,975 from the 2010 census figure. Whittier was incorporated in ...

on May 14, 1963; his given birth name passed down from his great-grandfather and father, John Thomas Cooper. He was raised in the nearby, northeastern section of La Habra (remote, Southeastern base of the

Puente Hills The Puente Hills are a chain of hills, one of the lower Transverse Ranges, in an unincorporated area in eastern Los Angeles County, California, in the United States. The western end of the range is often referred to locally as the Whittier Hills. ...

). He is the younger brother of artist and stylist Cathy Cooper, grandson of H.V. Cooper and also the grandson (x4) of Harriet Byron McAllister His mother, Georgie Cooper, was an accomplished classical pianist; his Godfather Robert Voris was a well known baritone-bass vocal soloist. Cooper's father was an amateur clarinet and sax player who gave Cooper his first instruments. He was first inspired by clarinetist

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

at age eleven, he soon was taken by

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

heard from 78's; he learned flute in college. 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 (later studied with Peter Yellin in New York). While at Fullerton College he recorded on the

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

award-winning LP, '' Time Tripping.'' He later transferred to

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public university in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degrees, 122 master's degrees, ...

where he received a BA in

Music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origin ...

and clarinet in 1987. Cooper also studied jazz composition with composers Bob Curnow and David Caffey. "Since college, when I first began studying big band musical arrangements, (I) wanted to orchestrate for jazz ensembles."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.''

, February 10, 2006. Two years later he completed a MA in composition at C.S.U.L.A. and had studied with Byong-Kon Kim, George Heussenstamm and William H. Hill. He has collaborated closely on several professional projects with CSULA classmate Luis Bonilla. Early on in Cooper's life he started experiencing acute Synesthesia/

Chromesthesia Chromesthesia or sound-to-color synesthesia is a type of synesthesia in which sound involuntarily evokes an experience of color, shape, and movement. Individuals with sound-color synesthesia are consciously aware of their synesthetic color associ ...

which would become an important part of his process to composing and arranging music. Later composition studies were with David Baker,

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...

Manny Albam Manny Albam (June 24, 1922 – October 2, 2001) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger, record producer, and educator. Early life A native of the Dominican Republic, Albam grew up in New York City. He was attracted to jazz at an e ...

, Karl Korte, and Richard Lawn; in 1999 he earned a DMA in composition from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

."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, October 9, 2013. His first notable professional work in Los Angeles as a

was with the Kingsmen,

Shari Lewis Shari Lewis (born Phyllis Naomi Hurwitz; January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was a Peabody-winning American ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, television show host, dancer, singer, actress, author, and symphonic conductor. She wa ...

, Mateos Parseghian, the Tak Shindo Orchestra, Si Zentner, Steve Jam, the Dive, and the Last Mile.

Armed forces and the West Point Jazz Knights

At age 25 (in 1989) Cooper was hired as a

saxophonist The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of Single-reed instrument, single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed (mouthpi ...

woodwind doubler A woodwind doubler (or reed doubler) is a musician who can play two or more instruments from the six woodwind families (clarinets, saxophones, oboes, bassoons, flutes and recorders or other folk or ethnic woodwind instruments (e.g. panflute, iris ...

and staff arranger for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

Jazz Knights, a premier musical ensemble of the United States Armed Forces. For 6 years he toured, performed, wrote for 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 The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, specializing in light classical and popular music. The orchestra's current music director is Keith Lockhart. Founded in 1885 as an offshoot of the Boston Sym ...

, jazz festivals across the Northeastern United States, backing entertainers and jazz artists. He participated in the funeral of former President

Richard M. Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and wa ...

in April 1994. While in New York he worked extensively backing entertainers and artists such as Tony Martin,

The Lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contempor ...

Clint Holmes Clint Holmes (born 9 May 1946) is a British-born singer-songwriter and Las Vegas entertainer, and TV announcer. Bio He was born in Bournemouth, England, the son of an African-American jazz musician and an English opera singer. He was raised in ...

, Fred Travalena, Dennis Wolfberg, and worked as arranger and saxophonist with the band ''Alma Latina''. Cooper was introduced by composer Carl Strommen during this time to Columbia Pictures Publishing/Belwin and Warner Bros.; ''

Double Helix A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

'' was the first of many works published.

Professional career

As instrumentalist

Cooper has played woodwind instruments professionally since the 1980s. His work includes backing Jennifer Holliday, Lady Rizo,

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

Macy Gray Natalie Renée McIntyre (born September 6, 1967), known by her stage name Macy Gray, is an American R&B and soul singer and actress. She is known for her distinctive raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Gray h ...

, Manhattan Transfer,

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting ''The Glen Campbell Goodt ...

Mitch Ryder Mitch Ryder (born William Sherille Levise, Jr.; February 26, 1945) is an American musician who has recorded more than 25 albums over more than four decades. Career Ryder formed his first band, Tempest, when he was at Warren High School, and th ...

(and

Detroit Wheels The Detroit Wheels were an American football team, a charter member of the defunct World Football League. Founding Soon after Gary Davidson announced the WFL's formation in October 1973, he was approached by a man named Bud Hucul about putting ...

Chris Stamey Christopher Charles Stamey (born December 6, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. After a brief time playing with Alex Chilton, as well as Mitch Easter under the name Sneakers, Stamey formed The dB's with Pet ...

and playing woodwinds on national tours for '' the Producers'', ''

Sweet Charity ''Sweet Charity'' is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon alongside John McMartin. It is based on ...

'', and ''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dance ...

''. He has played in saxophone sections for the

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

Orchestra, the

Guy Lombardo Gaetano Alberto "Guy" Lombardo (June 19, 1902 – November 5, 1977) was an Italian-Canadian-American bandleader, violinist, and hydroplane racer. Lombardo formed the Royal Canadians in 1924 with his brothers Carmen, Lebert and Victor, and ot ...

Orchestra,

the Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

and on the CD '' Coming Through Slaughter: The Bolden Legend''. He has also been a featured guest artist/soloist at the Western States Jazz Festival, the

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

International Jazz and Blues Festival (U.K.), the 45th International Horn Symposium, and the Festival Virtuosi (2007) in

Recife, Brazil That it may shine on all (Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South Am ...

. Also as a

woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and ree ...

player, Cooper has been a featured classical artist and soloist with the Hot Springs Festival Orchestra, Memphis Symphony Orchestra, the IRIS Symphony Orchestra, and as chamber soloist internationally.

As composer (highlights)

Cooper first writing music professionally in the early 1980s. He was first hired in 1992 as a staff arranger for Columbia Pictures Publishing/Belwin; his television and media music writing credits include ''

The Jenny Jones Show ''The Jenny Jones Show'' is an American syndicated daytime tabloid talk show that was hosted by comedian/actress/singer Jenny Jones. It was produced by Quincy Jones-David Salzman Entertainment and Telepictures Productions and was distributed b ...

'', Danish Radio 2 (DR P2), '' E! Entertainment'' shows, ''

Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', formerly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created ...

'', '' JBVO: Your All Request Cartoon Show'', ''

American Restoration ''American Restoration'' is an American reality television series airing on the History channel. Produced by Leftfield Pictures, the first six seasons were recorded in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicled the daily activities at ''Rick's Resto ...

'', ''

Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a. ...

'', and ''

Extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * '' Extra!'', an American m ...

''.IMDb Listing, Jack Cooper
also refer to ''Double Helix'' His music has been featured at numerous venues around the world to include the

North Sea Jazz Festival The North Sea Jazz Festival is an annual festival held each second weekend of July in the Netherlands at the Ahoy venue. It used to be in The Hague but since 2006 it has been held in Rotterdam. This is because the Statenhal where the festival w ...

and the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

. He is 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''. He also serves as the musical director and chief arranger for Kathy Kosins and her show ''Rhapsody in Boop''. In February 2006 Cooper collaborated with choreographer Mark Godden to produce the ballet ''Two Jubilees'' commissioned by and for

Ballet Memphis Ballet Memphis is a regionally and nationally recognized professional ballet company, founded in 1986 by Dorothy Gunther Pugh, and based in Memphis, Tennessee. Ballet Memphis regularly performs at their midtown home in an intimate performance space ...

. His musical influence on the ballet gained critical acclaim. Though his catalogue has a great deal of varied music, his work emphasizes the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

genre. 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." Two definitive CDs were recorded 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, progressive big band composition and orchestration. As a staff composer and arranger, he is featured with the BBB featuring Bernie Dresel on their acclaimed 2022 CD '' The Pugilist''.

Chamber and solo works

His '' Sonata for Trombone'' was commissioned in 1997 and has been widely performed and recorded by trombone artists including Mark Hetzler, Tom Brantley, Lance Green, Chris Buckholtz, and Michael Davidson (among others). The work is recorded on two highly acclaimed recordings for

Centaur Records Centaur Records is one of the oldest and largest independent classical labels in America. The company is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and was founded by Victor Sachse in 1976. Centaur's catalog includes classical, historical, pops, contemp ...

and

Summit Records Summit Records, Inc. is an internationally distributed record label that evolved out of the large brass ensemble Summit Brass in the late 1980s. It was established by David Hickman and Ralph Sauer. Four Summit Records recordings have been nomi ...

. Cooper's ''2nd Sonata for Trombone'' was completed in 2018 and recorded on the release ''Synthesis'' for SkyDeck Music. '' The Sonata for Alto Saxophone'' was commissioned for and first premiered in July 2000 at the 12th World Saxophone Congress in Montreal, Canada. It is described as belonging with "such landmark 'jazz/classical' pieces as the Phil Woods Sonata, on any recital or concert program that explores (both) these worlds." '' One of the Missing – for those lost in Iraq'' for

euphonium The euphonium is a medium-sized, 3 or 4-valve, often compensating, conical-bore, tenor-voiced brass instrument that derives its name from the Ancient Greek word ''euphōnos'', meaning "well-sounding" or "sweet-voiced" ( ''eu'' means "well" ...

was commissioned in 2007 and premiered in 2008. It is a protest piece that shows the composer's anti-war stance against the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

; the title is taken from the anti-war/

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...

short story and

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

Ambrose Bierce Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce (June 24, 1842 – ) was an American short story writer, journalist, poet, and American Civil War veteran. His book ''The Devil's Dictionary'' was named as one of "The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature" by t ...

. The work was also used on the soundtrack of a 2011 Canadian television film broadcast on the Vision network. Cooper's Violin Sonata was premiered on May 27, 2018 as part of the Barnstedter Kapellen Konserte series in Barnstedt, Germany; recording of the work for commercial release was on June 26/27 at Greve Studio in Berlin.

Berlin, Germany

From June 2015 through August 2016 Cooper resided full-time in the

Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf () is the fourth borough of Berlin, formed in an administrative reform with effect from 1 January 2001, by merging the former boroughs of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf. Overview Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf covers the ...

borough of Berlin, Germany and continues to commute between the U.S. and Germany and makes his home in both Schöneberg, Berlin and

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

. He serves as a staff arranger, musical director and production assistant for Marc Secara and the Berlin Jazz Orchestra for live performances and recording sessions. He also assisted in arranging for the Collegium musicum Potsdam Symphony Orchestra and the Compass Big Band. Cooper has conducted music and performed in venues such at the Wühlmäuse Theater, Heimathafen Neukölln and Kunstfabrik Schlot. He also served as a

Visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

and

Artist-in-residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

at the SRH Hochschule der populären Künste and is currently a visiting professor at the Universität Erfurt. He has worked closely with German jazz, pop and Schlager personalities such as Marc Secara, Jiggs Whigham and Marc Marshall. Since 2018, Cooper has collaborated with German, film documentary director Anne-Kathrin Peitz. He is featured on the award winning '' The Unanswered Ives'' documentary and is and also featured on the 2022 television documentary about the life and music of composer

Paul Dessau Paul Dessau (19 December 189428 June 1979) was a German composer and conductor. He collaborated with Bertolt Brecht and composed incidental music for his plays, and several operas based on them. Biography Dessau was born in Hamburg into a mu ...

Awards and special recognition

Jack Cooper was named the Pearl Wales Professor of Music of the University of Memphis in August or 2020. He was also the 2020 recipient of the University of Memphis CCFA Dean's Creative Achievement Award and the 2010 recipient of the Distinguished Achievement in the Creative Arts Award from the UMAA. 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 for Recording Program in 2003. He is also the recipient of numerous

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

composer awards since 1996. As a presenter he has been honored as the key-note speaker for the

Modern Language Association The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "s ...

, scholar and main presenter for four different

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

series on American Music, and the Hawaii International Conference on Arts & Humanities.

Teaching and education career

Cooper has been teaching at the collegiate level for over 20 years, earning the rank of

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

. Before his appointment to the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

as director of jazz studies in 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 in

Recife That it may shine on all (Gospel of Matthew, Matthew Sermon on the Mount, 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , p ...

(Brazil), Birmingham (U.K), Berlin Germany, Graz Austria and Bogotá Colombia. He has also served as guest conductor for the Missouri All-State Collegiate Jazz Orchestra, the Arkansas All-State High School Jazz Ensemble, and the Arizona All-State High School Jazz Ensemble. From Fall of 2016 through March 2020, Cooper served as host of the WUMR radio program ''The Voice of Jazz'' which aired on Wednesday night from 5-6 P.M. CST.

Timeline of professional/musical career

ImageSize = width:1000 height:200 PlotArea = left:150 bottom:120 top:0 right:14 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1981 till:31/12/2020 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1981 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1981 Colors = id:la value:green legend:Los Angeles id:ny value:purple legend:New York id:tx value:orange legend:Austin Texas id:mem value:blue legend:Memphis Tennessee id:be value:red legend:Berlin Germany LineData = at:01/01/1981 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1986 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1991 color:black layer:back at:01/01/1996 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2001 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2005 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2011 color:black layer:back at:01/09/2016 color:black layer:back at:31/12/2020 color:black layer:back PlotData = width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,–4) bar:Los Angeles from:01/10/1981 till: 01/10/1989 color:la bar:New York from:01/10/1989 till: 08/10/1995 color:ny bar:Austin Texas from:08/10/1995 till: 08/10/1998 color:tx bar:Memphis Tennessee from:08/10/1998 till: 01/06/2015 color:mem bar:Memphis Tennessee from:01/08/2016 till: end color:mem bar:Memphis Tennessee from:01/08/2016 till: end color:be width:3 bar:Berlin Germany from:01/06/2015 till: end color:be

Audio Recordings

As featured artist, composer or producer

* 2003: '' Big Band Reflections of Cole Porter'' (

) * 2004: '' Memphis Jazz Box'' ( Ice House Records) * 2007: '' Voices'' ( Select-O-Hits) * 2009: '' Out of the Bluffs'' ( Select-O-Hits) * 2010: ''

The Chamber Wind Music of Jack Cooper ''The Chamber Wind Music of Jack Cooper'' is the first classical/new music studio recording featuring numerous performing artists recording chamber wind music of the composer on the Centaur Records label. Background In 2006, it was decided a C ...

''
(

) * 2014: '' Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra'' (

Planet Arts Records Planet Arts Records is a Grammy and ASCAP award-winning record label and arts organization. Started by Tom Bellino, they are a not-for-profit 501(c) 3 company dedicated to working with artists, educators, and cultural organizations on the developme ...

) * 2015: '' Time Within Itself'' (

Origin Records Origin Records is a jazz and classical music record label founded by drummer John Bishop in 1997.de Barros, Paul (July 2, 2002)Small label, big noise: Ballard's Origin Records drumming up national interest Seattle Times. With the help of drummer M ...

) * 2018: ''

Origin Suite ''Origin Suite'' is the second jazz album by Michael Waldrop (musician), Michael Waldrop, produced by award-winning Seattle, Washington-based label Origin Records and released January 3, 2018. The CD idea is a high level, eclectic mix of works sho ...

'' (

) * 2021: '' Songs of Berlin'' (GAM Music)

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

* 1985: '' The New in You'' (H D C Music Publications) * 1986: ''

We're Back! "We're Back!" is the first track and third single from The Lonely Island's second album ''Turtleneck & Chain''. The song was first performed on ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' on April 1, 2011 while the album was released on May 10, 2011. The v ...

'' (H D C Music Publications) * 1987: '' Diversions'' (H D C Music Publications) * 1988: '' Monstrosity!'' (H D C Music Publications) * 1990: '' It's About Time'' (CSULA 890) * 1993: '' The USMA Band'' (Mark Records DC 1401) * 1994: ''

Mainstream Mainstream may refer to: Film * ''Mainstream'' (film), a 2020 American film Literature * ''Mainstream'' (fanzine), a science fiction fanzine * Mainstream Publishing, a Scottish publisher * ''Mainstream'', a 1943 book by Hamilton Basso Mu ...

'' (JLFC) * 1996: ''Jump Shot!'' (RM 169D) * 1997: '' Sixth Floor Jazz'' (UTJO) * 1997: ''Celebration!'' (FC) * 1997: ''Fascinatin' Rhythm'' (ROPA JAZZ) * 1998: ''

Games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

'' (UNI) * 1999: ''Meanwhile...'' (OCJ Jazz) * 2000: '' Once in a Blue Moon'' (UTJO) * 2000: ''Illusion'' (Benjamino Music) * 2001: ''The Eleventh Hour'' (Seabreeze Jazz) * 2001 ''Showcase 2001'' * 2002: '' Up Your Brass'' (Seabreeze Jazz) * 2002: ''Summertime'' (AJE) * 2003: ''Eclectikos'' ( Dekajaz) * 2003: ''

Standard Deviations In statistics, the standard deviation is a measure of the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values. A low standard deviation indicates that the values tend to be close to the mean (also called the expected value) of the set, whil ...

'' (HDCD) * 2003: '' Upside Out'' (Seabreeze-Vista Jazz) * 2006: ''Minimal Effort'' (UNL) * 2011: '' Enriching Life With Jazz'' ( JazzMN) * 2012: ''Peanuts for Christmas'' (iTunes, MP3 album) * 2013: ''Juletona'' (Daniel Engen Productions) * 2014: ''Sounds of the Season'' (BlueTom Records) *2015: '' Local Color'' (UNI) *2015: '' Blues, Ballads and Beyond'' (

) *2016: '' Sound of Home'' (Junge Töne) *2016: '' I Can Do All Things'' (JWM) *2017: ''Neujahrskonzert'' (Aktiv Sound Records) *2018: ''

Synthesis Synthesis or synthesize may refer to: Science Chemistry and biochemistry *Chemical synthesis, the execution of chemical reactions to form a more complex molecule from chemical precursors **Organic synthesis, the chemical synthesis of organi ...

'' ( SkyDeck Music) *2020: ''Almost Alone'' (ADC Recordings) *2021: '' Time Frames'' ( Origin Classical) *2021: '' The Pugilist'' (DIG-IT) *2022: ''Love Never Changes'' (JWM) *2022 ''Crosscurrents'' (Schoener Hören Music)

As instrumentalist

* 1982: '' Escape to Asylum'' (FC/parts re-released with Trend AM PM Records) * 1983: ''Classical Expression'' (FCLP) * 1983: '' Time Tripping'' ( Trend AM PM Records) * 1984: '' Primarily Jazz'' ( Trend AM PM Records) * 1985: ''

Unforgettable Unforgettable may refer to: Film * ''Unforgettable'' (1996 film), a thriller starring Ray Liotta * ''Unforgettable'' (2014 film), a Bollywood film * ''Unforgettable'' (2016 film), a South Korean film * ''Unforgettable'' (2017 film), an America ...

'' ( Trend AM PM Records) * 1998: ''Live at Ringside'' (OCJ Jazz) * 2003: ''Swingopoly'' (NMH Jazz) * 2003: ''Ninety Years of Making Music'' (UMAA) * 2009: '' Coming Through Slaughter: The Bolden Legend'' ( SkyDeck Music) * 2022: ''Small Places'' (CC Music)

Film, television, DVD, video

As instrumentalist/actor

* 1988: '' Man Against the Mob'' (television movie,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...

) * 2005: '' Mississippi Rising'' (

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

) * 2010: ''Why I Chose...'' (

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The co ...

) * 2018: '' The Unanswered Ives'' ( Accentus Music,

Arte Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture. It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, pl ...

)

As composer/arranger/conductor/musical director

* 1995: '' Twice is Nice'' ( UMG/FirstCom) * 2008: ''Candle on the Bluff Awards'' (

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

, WKNO) * 2009: ''Candle on the Bluff Awards'' (

, WKNO) * 2011: ''Live at Nine'' (CBS) WREG * 2012
''The Art Academy'' (True Story Pictures)

Published music, books, educational media, articles as reviewer

* 1995: ''

'' * 2005: ''

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Folklore ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (

Greenwood Press Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG), also known as ABC-Clio/Greenwood (stylized ABC-CLIO/Greenwood), is an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which is today part of ABC-Clio. Established in 1967 as Gr ...

) – four entries authored * 2007: ''Experiencing Jazz'' (

Routledge Publishing Routledge () is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humaniti ...

) – contributing author for DVD and web content * 2008: ''Winter Wonderland'' ( SmartMusic) * 2008: ''MTSBOA Jazz Bands'' 2 CD set (Heartdance Music Inc.) * 2011
''JazzTimes'' Magazine
* 2012: ''Perfectly Composed'' (CD ROM) * 2014: ''Practical Music Theory'' (Kendall Hunt Publishing) – music for chapter 19Baur, John. ''Practical Music Theory'', Chapter 19 – analysis of Jack Cooper's arrangement of ''

What a Wonderful World "What a Wonderful World" is a song written by Bob Thiele (as "George Douglas") and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released in 1967 as a single. It topped the pop chart in the United Kingdom, but performed poor ...

'', Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. 2014. pp. 287–289, * 2019: ''Composing Jazz'' ( SkyDeck Music) contributing author

Other artists worked with (partial list)

Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series ''Sei ...

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Ge ...

* Larry Elgart *

Lesley Gore Lesley Sue Goldstein (May 2, 1946 – February 16, 2015), known professionally as Lesley Gore, was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. At the age of 16, she recorded the pop hit " It's My Party", a US number one in 1963. She ...

* Jennifer Holliday *

Abbey Lincoln Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of deli ...

* Tony Martin *

Brian McKnight Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for h ...

Mulgrew Miller Mulgrew Miller (August 13, 1955 – May 29, 2013) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. As a child he played in churches and was influenced on piano by Ramsey Lewis and then Oscar Peterson. Aspects of their styles remained in ...

* James Moody *

Oscar Peterson Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian virtuoso jazz pianist and composer. Considered one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, Peterson released more than 200 recordings, won seven Grammy Awards, ...

Benny Powell Benny Powell (March 1, 1930 – June 26, 2010) was an American jazz trombonist. He played both standard (tenor) trombone and bass trombone. Biography Born Benjamin Gordon Powell Jr in New Orleans, Louisiana, he first played professionally ...

Rufus Reid Rufus Reid (born February 10, 1944, in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American jazz bassist, educator, and composer. Biography Reid was raised in Sacramento, California, where he played the trumpet through junior high and high school. Upon graduation ...

Molly Ringwald Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. She was cast in her first major role as Molly in the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' (1979–80) after a casting director saw her playing an or ...

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

Ray Romano Raymond Albert Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Ray Barone on the CBS sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', for which he received an Emmy Award, and as the ...

* David Sánchez *

Roseanna Vitro Roseanna Elizabeth Vitro (born February 28, 1951) is a jazz singer and teacher from Arkansas. Biography Born Roseanna Elizabeth VitroScott Fredrickson and Gary W. Kennedy.Vitro (Wickliffe), Roseanna" In ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', ...

* Nancy Wilson *

The Four Tops ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

The O'Jays The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appearance with the minor hi ...

* The Spinners *

The Shirelles The Shirelles were an American girl group formed in Passaic, New Jersey in 1957. They consisted of schoolmates Shirley Owens (later Shirley Alston Reeves), Doris Coley (later Doris Kenner-Jackson), Addie "Micki" Harris (later Addie Harris McFad ...

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

Discography (select, reviewed)

References

External links

* * * *
Jack Cooper
at

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online collaborative database of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also feat ...

*
Jack Cooper
at ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade of growth ...

''
Jack Cooper
at ''

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

''
Alfred Music Publishing

University of Memphis School of Music

Jack Cooper on Memphis Machine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Jack Living people 1963 births Jazz musicians from California University of Memphis faculty Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee American clarinetists American jazz clarinetists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists American jazz bandleaders Big band bandleaders Jazz arrangers American jazz composers American male jazz composers American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American music arrangers American television composers Third stream musicians Composers for trombone Composers for piano American jazz educators University of Texas at Austin College of Fine Arts alumni California State University, Los Angeles alumni Fullerton College alumni People from La Habra, California United States Army Band musicians 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century clarinetists 21st-century American male musicians Summit Records artists Centaur Records artists Origin Records artists

Intro

Early life, musical education and influences

Armed forces and the West Point Jazz Knights

Professional career

As instrumentalist

As composer (highlights)

Chamber and solo works

Berlin, Germany

Awards and special recognition

Teaching and education career

Timeline of professional/musical career

Audio Recordings

As featured artist, composer or producer

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

As instrumentalist

Film, television, DVD, video

As instrumentalist/actor

As composer/arranger/conductor/musical director

Published music, books, educational media, articles as reviewer

Other artists worked with (partial list)

Discography (select, reviewed)

See also

References

External links