Jack Cooper (born John Thomas Cooper Jr., May 14, 1963) is an American composer, arranger, orchestrator, multireedist, and music educator. He has performed with, written music for and recorded by internationally known pop, jazz, and classical artists.

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Jack Cooper
Conducting the Mists recording session April 4, 2014
Background information
Birth name	John Thomas Cooper, Jr.
Born	(1963-05-14) May 14, 1963 (age 60) Whittier, California, U.S.
Origin	La Habra, California, U.S.
Genres	Jazz Classical Pop
Occupation(s)	Musician composer arranger orchestrator conductor music director record producer educator
Instrument(s)	Saxophone Clarinet Flute
Years active	1981–present
Labels	Centaur Origin Planet Arts Select-O-Hits Summit SkyDeck
Website
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1989–1995
Rank	Staff Sergeant
Unit	USMA Band

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Cooper has performed with, written music for or recorded by internationally known pop, jazz, and classical artists including Sean Ardoin, Aaron Neville, Marc Secara, Jiggs Whigham, the Berlin Jazz Orchestra, Lenny Pickett, Joyce Cobb, the BBB featuring Bernie Dresel, Duffy Jackson, Donald Brown, Young Voices Brandenburg, Jimi Tunnell, Christian McBride, the Westchester Jazz Orchestra, the U.S.A.F. Airmen of Note, the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors, the Dallas Winds, and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]}

Jack Cooper was born in Whittier, California on May 14, 1963; his given birth name passed down from his great-grandfather and father, John Thomas Cooper.^[7] He was raised in the nearby, northeastern section of La Habra (remote, Southeastern base of the Puente Hills).^[8] He is the younger brother of artist and stylist Cathy Cooper, grandson of H.V. Cooper and also the grandson (x4) of Harriet Byron McAllister^[9][10] His mother, Georgie Cooper, was an accomplished classical pianist; his Godfather Robert Voris was a well known baritone-bass vocal soloist.^[11][12][13] Cooper's father was an amateur clarinet and sax player who gave Cooper his first instruments. He was first inspired by clarinetist Artie Shaw at age eleven, he soon was taken by Charlie Parker heard from 78's; he learned flute in college.^[14][15][16]

After graduating from Sonora High School and having first studied with Ernie Del Fante, Cooper attended Fullerton College where he studied composition and arranging with Tom Ranier and saxophone with Dave Edwards and Don Raffell (later studied with Peter Yellin in New York).^[17] While at Fullerton College he recorded on the Down Beat award-winning LP, Time Tripping. He later transferred to California State University, Los Angeles where he received a BA in Music education and clarinet in 1987. Cooper also studied jazz composition with composers Bob Curnow and David Caffey. "Since college, when I first began studying big band musical arrangements, (I) wanted to orchestrate for jazz ensembles."^[18] Two years later he completed a MA in composition at C.S.U.L.A. and had studied with Byong-Kon Kim, George Heussenstamm and William H. Hill.^[19] He has collaborated closely on several professional projects with CSULA classmate Luis Bonilla.^[20] Early on in Cooper's life he started experiencing acute Synesthesia/Chromesthesia which would become an important part of his process to composing and arranging music.^[18]

Later composition studies were with David Baker, Gerald Wilson, Manny Albam, Karl Korte, and Richard Lawn; in 1999 he earned a DMA in composition from the University of Texas at Austin.^[21][22][23]

His first notable professional work in Los Angeles as a multireedist was with the Kingsmen, Shari Lewis, Mateos Parseghian, the Tak Shindo Orchestra, Si Zentner, Steve Jam, the Dive, and the Last Mile.^[24]

At age 25 (in 1989) Cooper was hired as a saxophonist/woodwind doubler and staff arranger for the United States Army Jazz Knights, a premier musical ensemble of the United States Armed Forces.^[25] For 6 years he toured, performed, wrote for and recorded extensively with the West Point Band's musical group to include A&E television appearances at the Hatch Memorial Shell with the Boston Pops, jazz festivals across the Northeastern United States, backing entertainers and jazz artists.^[24] He participated in the funeral of former President Richard M. Nixon in April 1994.^[26]

While in New York he worked extensively backing entertainers and artists such as Tony Martin, The Lettermen, Clint Holmes, Fred Travalena, Dennis Wolfberg, and worked as arranger and saxophonist with the band Alma Latina. Cooper was introduced by composer Carl Strommen during this time to Columbia Pictures Publishing/Belwin and Warner Bros.; Double Helix was the first of many works published.

Cooper has been teaching at the collegiate level for over 25 years, earning the rank of Professor. Before his appointment to the University of Memphis as director of jazz studies in 1998, he had taught privately and worked as a clinician for the U.S. Army Jazz Knights. He has served as an invited clinician, guest artist, and conductor in Recife (Brazil), Birmingham (U.K), Berlin Germany, Graz Austria and Bogotá Colombia.^[70] He has also served as guest conductor for the Missouri All-State Collegiate Jazz Orchestra, the Arkansas All-State High School Jazz Ensemble, and the Arizona All-State High School Jazz Ensemble.^[71] From September 2016 through March 2020, Cooper served as host of the WUMR radio program The Voice of Jazz which aired on Wednesday nights from 5-6 P.M. CST.^[72]