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Jessie Allen Cooper |
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This Time Tomorrow... Jessie
Allen Cooper... 2019 Release
Accomplished musician, composer and producer, Jessie Allen Cooper,
pays homage to his roots in blues music with his new CD, This
Time Tomorrow, a blues album. The harmonica, known as a traditional
blues instrument, was the first instrument he learned to play,
which makes it all the more fitting that Cooper solely plays the
harmonica on this album.
Cooper's American roots date back seven generations. His ancestors
were on the Mayflower, making him a "son of the revolution".
He is also a descendant of one of America's most beloved founding
fathers, the great inventor and statesman, Benjamin Franklin.
In the mid 1800s, Jessie's family was among one of the first to
settle Everett, Washington where he was born.
Growing up in Everett, Jessie remembers hanging around the train
tracks with his friends. The album cover artwork harkens back
to those days inspired by Jessie's memories of hopping the trains
passing through Everett and playing his harmonica in empty boxcars
and tunnels.
Jessie listened to all types of music, but when he heard John
Mayall play his blues harmonica at a concert, that was a defining
moment for him. Soon after, he began studying blues harmonica
players like Sonny Boyd Williamson, Little Walter and Paul Butterfield.
This Time Tomorrow pays tribute to these and other blues legends
such as Big Bill Broonzy and T-Bone Walker whose songs "Done
Got Wise", "Your Funeral and My Trial", "Just
a Dream" and "Stormy Monday" are all featured on
this album.
Cooper was working on his Let's Connect CD in 2007 when he received
a call from Paula Samonte letting him know that she was in LA.
"She told me that she and Ed Reinhart were playing downtown
and we agreed to meet."
They met and decided to record a blues jam session that would
feature Jessie on harp, Ed on piano and vocals and Paula on vocals.
Steve Reid would play the cajón and bongos, run the board
and record all at the same time. Jessie and his blues band recorded
songs such as "Let the Good Time Roll" by Louis Jordan
along with original music by Paula and Ed, "Too Hot Blues,"
and by Jessie and Ed, "Jessie's Blue" and title track,
"This Time Tomorrow".
In 2009, Cooper returned to his native Washington. He sold his
home in LA and bought a house in Everett, while helping care for
his elderly mother until her passing.
"Over the next 10 years, I listened to our blues-jam recordings
from the Sonic Jungle Studio in LA. As, I heard them over and
over, I realized they needed to have a more complete sound."
So, Jessie asked Doug Ross to add bass guitar and his brother
Jerry to add drums to the songs, thereby completing This Time
Tomorrow, a blues album in 2018.
"Blues music not only paved the way for me, but virtually
every major musician who's followed like: The Rolling Stones,
The Who, Jimi Hendrix and U2, to name a few."
As lead singer of his first band (Chrysalis) Cooper learned to
play the harmonica. He joined bands that played a cross section
of genres from hard rock blues (Mosehops) to blues (Rainbow Blues
Band) to funk and R&B (Déjà vu). At 19, Cooper
picked up the saxophone. With Aurora, pop rock, Jessie toured
throughout the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada.\
After studying jazz improvisation and composition at Western Washington
State University, Cooper landed in Los Angeles (Santa Monica)
making it his home base for over 25 years.
Through the years, Cooper has written, composed, arranged and
produced most of his own music, while assembling some of the finest
talent for recording his albums. These artists include: percussionist
Steve Reid (Miles Davis, Rippingtons, Supertramp), Ira Ingber
(Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, The Eagles), bassist Vail Johnson (Stevie
Nicks, Kenny G, Warren Hill), keyboardist Michael Railton (Flock
of Seagulls, English Beat, General Public), Osamu Kitajima (Ottmar
Liebert, Dan Siegel), Ricardo Silveira (Gilberto Gil, Herbie Mann,
Babyface), Mark Portman (The Rippingtons, Celine Dion, Dave Koz,
Josh Groban) and many others.
In 1983, Cooper released his first album, Heaven Sent, a live
recording. While mixing the album, he added environmental sounds.
Considered one of the first new age albums, it featured Jessie
on soprano sax and Buddy Kithara on the kalimba.
It was followed by Softwave, a blend of smooth jazz and new age
music. Released in 1987 on the Narada/Sona Gaia label and distributed
by MCA records, it received nationwide and international airplay.
Songs from Softwave appear on several multi-artist new age samplers
including: Hallmark's Music to Shut Out The Rush Hour, Songs of
the Dolphin, MCA/Sona Gaia's Collection One and Radioactive and
Nuages under the Narada label.
Over the next five years, Cooper worked on a new CD, Moment in
Time, falling in the smooth jazz genre. It incorporates countless
stars, such as Russ Freeman, of Rippingtons fame, guitar on "Mystical
Illusion", legendary Brazilian guitarist Ricardo Silveira,
guitar on "Amazon" and Steve Bailey on bass.
Jessie spent the next eight years writing and recording music
along with running his picture framing business, J Cooper Picture
Framing.
By 2000, Jessie produced Sound of Feelings, with world renowned
healer Dr. Lucia Capacchione, capturing nine different emotions.
The CD accompanies Capacchione's book Living with Feeling. Jessie
also released Visioning in 2008, a two CD-set which accompanies
another Capacchione book, Visioning, Ten Steps to Designing the
Life of Your Dreams.
When September 11th occurred, Jessie felt compelled to act. As
he watched the horrific events unfold on TV, he recorded the live
news broadcasts. At the same time, he composed original music
to tie it all together. Cooper then brought in musicians to embellish
his compositions resulting in a poignant, non-visual, musical
documentary 9-11-01, (Remembering the day the earth stood still).
2004 brought Sound Travels, primarily a smooth jazz CD, which
also features new age music, world beat percussion, techno dance
rhythms and funky blues-rock.
Cooper released Pacific Lounge in 2005. The disk features Jessie
on saxophone and Tim Ponzek on piano in the classic tradition
of ballad writing.
Let's Connect, Cooper's nineteenth CD, combines a variety of musical
styles. With shades of blues and world beats, tracks range from
wild, up-tempo jams to moody introspective ballads.
After 36 years of recording music, ironically This Time Tomorrow,
is the first blues album by a blues-man at heart. Jessie considers
the blues to be a major part of his music foundation and yet he
has never dedicated an entire album to it - until now.
"I am very proud of being part of this American tradition.
Blues music has brought people together from all over the world.
My hope is that This Time Tomorrow brings smiles to faces, while
grooving on the blues."
For More Information Visit: CooperSoundWaves.com