Cooper, Bob (actually, Robert William)
Cooper, Bob (actually, Robert William)
Cooper, Bob (actually, Robert William) , jazz tenor saxophonist, saxophonist, oboist; b. Pittsburgh, Pa., Dec. 6, 1925; d. Los Angeles, Calif., Aug. 5, 1993. He played with Stan Kenton (1945–51) and married Kenton’s vocalist, June Christy. Cooper performed and recorded with Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse All-Stars with Kenton, Christy, and others well in to 1960s, including several albums as band leader. Like many West Coast jazzmen of that era, Cooper disappeared to do studio work during lean years for jazz, and became especially noted for the quality of his work using oboe improvisation. He briefly found a degree of interest in his work during the late 1980s. In 1989, he was honored with a tribute by the L.A. Jazz Society.
Discography
Shifting Winds (1955); Flute and Oboe of Bud Shank and B. C. (1956); Milano Blues (1957); Coop! the Music of Bob Cooper (1958); Tenor Sax Jazz Impressions (1979); Music of Michel Legrand, Vols. 1, 2 (1980); Tenor Sax Impressions (1981); In a Mellotone (1985); For All We Know (1990).
—Music Master Jazz and Blues Catalogue/Lewis Porter