2 new CDs for sale!

Hi everyone, I have 2 new CDs for sale in my shop. Please check them out. 3 American Concertos isn't exactly "new" it's just that I haven't put it up for sale on this site till now.  I had an idea that it would be a good thing to record some concertos but with the piano reduction instead of the orchestra setting for which they were originally composed.  I feel there are a lot of great…

Tom Harrell

As most of you are aware I'm a huge Tom Harrell fan.  (Need proof, check out my shop.)  I've had the opportunity to see him perform live about a dozen times and last night at the Jazz Estate in Milwaukee, I got to see him again in a quartet setting.  The quartet didn't have the opportunity to rehearse so the rep for the set I saw was standards.  I have to say this was some amazing trumpet…

My Ideal

Hello everyone.  I created this website to be a resource for educational thoughts and posts.  I've tried to not use it as a platform to advertise my gigs and other self-promotion.  However, this particular post is just simply documentation of one of my most proud moments in music.  My school UW-Platteville, hosts an annual Jazz Festival and this year the guest was the incomparable, Maria…

Mad Toast Live! w/Johannes

A few years back UW-Madison hired Johannes Wallmann to head their jazz program.  He is a pianist, composer and educator and now good friend.  As way of "introducing himself" to our music community he put together a few very cool musical projects.  The one that I am featuring here is a broadcast he was featured on called "Mad Toast Live!"  It is a concert that is emceed by a couple hosts that…

Have You Met Miss Jones?

“Have You Met Miss Jones” is a tune written by Richard Rodgers for the musical comedy “I’d Rather Be Right”. Lyrics were written by Lorenz Hart. This tune has been recorded and performed by many notable jazz musicians. It’s a common jam session tune and very important to know. This tune is most commonly played in the key of F Major. The form is AABA, with the A sections being fairly…

All the Things You Are

All the Things You Are A very informative resource site for getting the basics for tunes is learnjazzstandards.com Once there, you can search for a tune and, as in this case, many options for blog entries come up. If you click the link above it will take you to the introductory entry for All the Things You Are. On the right side of the screen are the chord changes in the usual transpositions,…

A review of “Petite Monde”

Recently, I decided to reprint my first solo jazz CD.  My daughter Skye, redid the layout and packaging giving it a much needed fresh look.  I also came across a Wisconsin State Journal review of that CD.  Lots have changed since then as 2003 was a lifetime ago, but I am still humbled by Kevin Lynch's kind words. Wisconsin State Journal :: RHYTHM :: 19 Thursday, June 26, 2003 Kevin Lynch…

A review of “The Journey”

Hi Everyone, A little while ago a writer-friend Kevin Lynch, did a review/article about my jazz CD "The Journey". The Journey: A Deathly Odyssey Teaches David Cooper about Music and Life. For virtuoso trumpeter David Cooper, the horn of plenty almost ran dry. Death Valley dry. You know the cliché about art imitating life. What’s more significant is how music can sometimes embody life…

New Jazz CD – The Journey

Hi everyone, I am very happy to announce the release of my new jazz CD, "The Journey". I recorded this with my good friends, Johannes Wallmann, Mark Urness and Ernie Adams this summer (2014).  I was diagnosed with cancer a few months earlier and decided recording a quartet jazz album was one of my life's bucket list things so I set to work composing the tunes for the project.  Most of the…

The Jam Session – Madison Style

I was a member of a jazz group called "The New Breed Quintet" for about four years.  "New Breed" was the house band for a jam session that happened every Wednesday night for over a decade.  There was a time when the group needed to find a new venue and the jam ended for a while.  (The New Breed is back and running on Tuesdays at the Cardinal now, though.)  Anyway, during that hiatus back around…