Jessie Allen

ACCLAIMED COMPOSER/SAXOPHONIST JESSIE ALLEN COOPER KEEPS THE SOUND TRAVELING WITH AN EXPLOSIVE MIX OF JAZZ, BLUES, POP AND WORLD MUSIC ON HIS LATEST RECORDING ‘LET’S CONNECT’
Featuring Live Tracks With Some Of L.A.’s Top Session Musicians, The Eclectic Set Was Produced By Jessie Allen Cooper and Former Rippington Steve Reid And Recorded In Part At Reid’s Sonic Jungle On The Famous Trident Console From The Old A&M Studios
Let’s Connect two inventors and one lineage. In the spirit of his iconic direct ancestor Benjamin Franklin, Jessie Allen Cooper’s life and musical career have been driven by a powerful creativity and a deep sense of restless invention.
Over the past 20 years, the vibes flowing out of the popular composer, and saxophonist’s Los Angeles based studio Cooper Sound Waves have tapped brilliantly into an eclectic array of genres— pop, jazz, R&B, chill, world music, new age —to create a distinctive style that defies and transcends the passing musical trends. Drawing inspiration from many of those genres and taking other tracks out into distinctively Latin and Brazilian directions, Cooper’s highly anticipated new CD makes an exciting offer to adventurous listeners everywhere: Let’s Connect.
While Let’s Connect directly follows the sax and piano based, chill out/relaxation project Pacific Lounge in Cooper’s discography, its rich textures and vibrant eclecticism expand upon the multi-faceted energy of his last major market release, 2003’s Sound Travels. Co-producing the album with longtime collaborator and former Rippingtons percussionist and soundscape master Steve Reid, Cooper gathered some of his favorite L.A. based musicians for sessions that took place at Cooper Sound Waves, Krizman’s Farm, and Reid’s well known Sonic Jungle—a facility featuring the famous classic Trident console from the old A&M Studios. Half of the ten tracks were done completely live in the studio, reflective of Cooper’s old school meets modern technology approach that includes the use of both analog and Pro Tools recording equipment.
“I’m super-excited about Let’s Connect, because I believe it’s the true pinnacle of my music,” says Cooper, who launched his career in the mid-80s with the now classic new age recordings Heaven Sent and Soft Wave. “It has flavors of every kind of music I have recorded and performed in the past, plus a lot of new and exciting world music and cool blues elements. If I had to choose a category, I would say these tracks are ‘pop jazz’ or ‘pop instrumental,’ but they truly stretch the boundaries. People will really get the feeling of moving from one end of the spectrum to the other. If it was a clock, the hands would be at ten and two, swinging in either direction even during the same song.”
Cooper adds that Let’s Connect has many different dimensions and styles with shades of blues and world beats, where some tracks are wild, jamming and up-tempo while others are more moody, lyrical and introspective. The title track Let’s Connect sets the tone for the album with a thick and crisp sound. Focal tracks include the live-in-the-studio samba jam “At The Festival,” and the grooving ventures “Departure,” “Beyond The Sun” and “Thai Lady.” The “soft wave” side of the saxman’s artistry shines through on the ballads “Personal Touch” and “For Your Eyes.”
Aside from co-writing with more R&B-oriented composers, Cooper is also jazzed that Reid pushed him to play more harmonica (his original instrument) and tenor sax in addition to Cooper’s well-known soprano. If listeners aren’t familiar with some of the names of Cooper’s ensemble, they likely know their work. Keyboardist and Liverpool native Mike Railo—whom Cooper credits as being one of the “sonic architects” of the project--played with iconic 80s bands English Beat and Flock Of Seagulls, has done sessions for Ozzy Osbourne, worked with Sting and writes a lot of film music. On the explosive title track (which will also be the album’s first radio single), Cooper creates real horn section magic with trumpeter Jim Hale, who also appeared on Sound Travels.
Other key participants shaping the sound of Let’s Connect include keyboardists Kim Hansen (part of Steve Reid’s Bamboo Forest group who has also played with Babyface), Steve Katz (Jon Anderson) and Armen Chakmakian (from the legendary new age group Shadowfax); guitarists Jack Majdecki (Glenn Yarbrough, Sergio Mendes) and guitar legend Mack Dougherty (Jaco Pastorius, Frank Sinatra); bassist Vail Johnson (Stevie Nicks, Kenny G, Warren Hill); and the tight rhythm section of Baba Elefante (Lee Oscar of War) and Brazilian native Sandro Feliciano on drums (Airto Moreira and Flora Purim). Paula Samonte makes a dynamic vocalese appearance on Departure and Beyond the Sun (Paul Mc Candless). Although longtime Cooper associate Rick Krizman did not play on the album, the saxman says he had a key role as a creative consultant and co-producer; the exotic songs “Rio Del Soul” and “Havana Moon” were tracked at his studio.
A native of the Seattle area, Cooper embraced the saxophone at 19 when he realized the chromatic limitations of the diatonic harmonica. He deepened his studies of jazz improvisation and composition at Western Washington State University, where he minored in art. From his late teens on, he was in a succession of bands playing different styles of music -- Mosehops (hard blues-rock), Rainbow Blues Band (strictly the blues), Déjà vu (funk and R&B) and Aurora (pop-rock). Aurora toured extensively throughout the Pacific Northwest and Canada. When Aurora broke up, Cooper moved to Los Angeles where he got gigs playing with The Coasters and Charles Wright before beginning to record his own music.
Like the “coopers” (craftsmen) of old who worked with wood and metal, Cooper has had a lifelong affinity for woodworking. He has balanced his musical career by owning and operating J. Cooper Picture Framing, a successful museum quality, archival, picture-framing business that crafts pieces by hand. His other album projects include the smooth jazz oriented Moment In Time (1993), the 5-CD musical healing project Sound Of Feelings (2000) and 9-11-01, a powerfully spiritual musical response to the events of September 11th. Written and recorded the week of the terrorist attacks, tracks from this recording were played on over 200 radio stations and received over 10,000 website hits.
“For me, one of the most important things about being an artist is being diversified and never limiting myself to one style of expression,” says Cooper. “I believe music is a high art form that adds something special to our lives. It can take us through many emotions, add richness to our world and even assist in healing broken spirits. I create music to effect positive change in people’s lives.