Event
Cooper-Moore Presents Old Paths, New Paths
As a composer, performer, instrument builder/designer, storyteller, teacher, mentor, and organizer, Cooper-Moore has been a major, if somewhat behind-the-scenes, catalyst in the world of creative music for over 30 years.
Cooper-Moore will perform this brand new program entirely on his own handcrafted instruments. Old and New Paths is a mix, a gumbo, a stew of gospel, bop, avant-garde jazz, blues based music, and stories--about people he's known, and stories he heard as a child living in the Piedmont area of Virginia.
Cooper-Moore's approach to music has gone beyond simple categorization. His work emerged from the jazz avant-garde, but never lost sight of the traditions he deems so important. Born in rural Virginia on August 31, 1946, he played piano in church throughout his youth, but developed an increasing fascination with jazz. Horace Silver and Ahmad Jamal were early formative influences on his piano playing. At age thirteen, he first heard the innovative orchestrations of Charles Mingus, and began to dream of moving to New York.
Through his teenage years, Cooper-Moore practiced piano, read voraciously from jazz magazines sent to him by relatives, and listened avidly to many musical styles and genres. He also developed interests in short-wave radio, electronics and astronomy, all of which were supported by his parents, who encouraged him to maintain his individuality. He studied physics and advanced math at Norfolk State College under a National Science Grant in the summer of 1962. He began to focus his energies on jazz in the mid-sixties, when the experimental playing of John Coltrane, Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman began to coalesce into a movement that some would call the "New Thing," or even a "Jazz Revolution."
He attended Washington, DC's Catholic University from 1964 to 1967 and Boston's Berkeley School of Music in 1967. One key early collaborator was saxophonist David S. Ware. Along with drummer Mark Edwards, Cooper-Moore and Ware founded the group Apogee in 1970. The group played from 1970 to 1974, and opened for Sonny Rollins at New York's Village Vanguard in 1972. Their work is documented on one album recorded years after the fact, Birth of a Being (Hat Art, 1978).
From 1975 to 1985 Cooper-Moore built instruments and worked as a music therapist with the severely disabled. He was eventually hired by the Wolf Trap foundation in Virginia, using music to teach in the Headstart program for young children.
In 1985, Cooper-Moore moved back to New York. In the early 1990s, he joined New York's Improvisers' Collective, a group of artists from many disciplines, and began the series of recordings for which he is best known. These have included work with William Parker's large ensemble In Order to Survive (AUM Fidelity), Bill Cole's Untempered Ensemble (Boxholder) and various collaborations with multi-instrumentalist Assif Tsahar (Hopscotch.) He has performed with Butch Morris and fronted the trio Triptych Myth with bassist Tom Abbs and drummer Chad Taylor.
Some press quotes on Cooper-Moore:
"One of New York's most effusive but reclusive musical geniuses. Cooper-Moore is a one-man New Orleans jazz funeral flailing like the Grambling State marching band across a vaudeville stage." - Andy Battaglia, Salon.com
"One of the most potent musicians ever." - Phil Waldorf, Other Music
"As one of those rare jacks who own the startling ability to master as many trades as they can fit under their belts, Cooper-Moore has become one of the East Coast creative jazz scene's most versatile and valuable presences." - Scott Hreha, One Final Note
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LocationMama Calizo's Voice Factory
1519 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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