Reviews for 9-11-01

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ON THE MARK - AUGUST, 2002 -Mark A. Rivera

Inspired by the events that happened and had followed September 11, 2002, Producer, Composer, Saxophonist, and Multi-Instrumentalist Jesse Allen Cooper, a seventh generation American who has traced his family history all the way back to one of the country's Benjamin Franklin, privately produced an album of music incorporating vocalizations by Diane Vaughn and Serpentine and his own narration of the horrific attacks on America. The CD incorporates elements of Middle Eastern percussion layered over contemporary urban musical techniques like looping, appropriation, and ambient jazz to create a kind of meditation on the events for one's own consumption.

The finished work resonates with the composer's concern, not just for those directly affected, but also for all humanity. Proceeds for the album will go toward the Jessie Allen Cooper Children's Fund, which will help to bring the arts back into public schools. For additional information visit the website at www.coopersoundwaves.com. -Mark A. Rivera

©Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.

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FILM FORCE - JUNE, 2002 - Ken P.

While I do want to move on quickly from the subject of 9/11, there's one more release I wanted to mention, this time in music form. I've been listening to one of the most haunting ? yet somehow cathartic ? releases I think I've ever heard. What's interesting is that I don't know if it's the music that is causing the flood of emotions, or if it's the prism of the events of 9/11 that is allowing the music to have more resonance. The CD in question is 9-11-01 (Cooper Sound Waves, $14.95 SRP), by Jessie Allen Cooper. The suite was begun immediately following the attack, and the flood of emotions is evident when you listen to the piece ? which combines vocals and soundbites from the actual news coverage of the events. When I first heard of this CD, I thought, "There's another guy trying to capitalize on a national tragedy, and I want no part of it." Then I heard the disc... and I was wrong. People respond in their own ways to tragedy... writers write, painters paint, orators speak, and musicians write music.