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MAXEY'S BOYS-A Boy and His Harmonica, 2001
Smooth...that's the first word that comes to mind while listening to Dennis M. Cooper play his harmonica backed by a jazz beat.
Jazz has a rich history fueled by wind instruments, guitar, piano, drums and vocalists. Harmonica has not usually fit into the jazz genre of music. After hearing Dennis M. Cooper I am left wondering why this hasn't been tried before. My first reaction to seeing this cut was, "jazz with a harmonica?"
I stand corrected. This cut is very much jazz with a harmonica and should stand beside some of the best jazz artists playing today. Dennis M. Cooper plays with passion and that is 9\10's of jazz. He has a power and intensity that reminds me of the old rail lines and the journey a mad man might take across the old 1930's dustbowl. Great imagery comes out of his harmonica and it is well worth listening to.
Great Job Mr. Cooper...you've made me rethink my prejudice of harmonica in jazz.
Clint Gage, Gods of Music, 10/28/2002 - Gods of Music.com
AMAZING GRACE-A Boy and His Harmonica, 2001
“Dennis M. Cooper carries his music like a Doctor carries his PhD. It is a part of his name, a part of his soul...it is the blues. You can hear it with every note of this song. He has lived the pain and the melancholy, he has lived this song. Amazing Grace...without knowing anything about the man behind this Harmonica, I would venture a guess that he had once been lost. And, now he's saved. There is a sweet tenderness, which mixes with just enough bitterness throughout this track.” Bottom line; this is the blues. I am giving a perfect score for lyrics because, with Mr. Cooper's skill I can hear them.”
Clint Gage, Gods of Music, 11/18/2001 - Gods of Music.com
Discography
"A Boy and His Harmonica" (Top selling Jazz cd at mp3.com on seven occasions since it's Oct, 2001 release) Every song on the album reached the top-3 in it's genre chart, with 11 of the 14 songs reaching #1.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
A B O U T T H E H A R M A N I A C
Whether it’s blues, country, big band, bebop, reggae, rock or easy listening,
The Harmaniac™, Dennis M. Cooper is there with the chops.
With a career spanning over thirty years performing with some of the finest
musicians in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California, and Texas, Cooper branched
out with his first solo release, “A Boy and His Harmonica”, in October, of 2001.
Since it’s release, the album has seen the number one spot on MP3.com’s “Top Selling
Jazz CDs” on four occasions and every song has been the number one, two or three song
of it’s genre chart.
He’s won many awards during his career, including a first place finish in the diatonic division of the Yellow Pine Harmonica Contest in 2001 and a B.E.A.M. (Benefitting emerging artists in Music) award from the
Jim Beam Company.
From the Oregon Coast to the Gulf Coast of Texas, The Harmaniac™ has entertained at
festivals and fairs in his one-man harmonica show.
“It’s not what people expect to hear coming from a harmonica,” says Cooper.
“I play a very melodic style and believe that everyone in the audience should
walk away humming or whistling a part of something I played.”
For his one-man shows, Cooper plays or sequences and records every instrument himself and burns them to CD’s. “I’m a lot more portable and affordable that way”, he stated. “But if it’s a “live” band you want, I have some of the finest back-up musicians available anywhere.”
Instrumental harmonica music hasn’t been popular on the mainstream music market since the Harmonicats topped the charts with “Peg O’ My Heart” in 1947.
“I intend to change that, quipped Cooper. “I’ve been accused by a few of my peers of being the “Kenny G. of harmonica players”. “For me, it’s all about getting my musical message out to as many people as possible and sharing the joy of the humble diatonic harmonica.”
Cooper is currently back in the studio working on three more solo album projects in different genres. “I’ve written some beautiful new songs, that are unlike anything I’ve ever heard performed on the harmonica.” “Music is a large part of my life. I use it to express the joy, sadness, love and expectations that I encounter on a day-to-day basis.”
Whatever his motivation, Cooper’s music has captured the attention of general music audiences around the world.
Cooper has recently been contracted by Jon Gindick, world renowned harmonica instructor and author of “Rock and Blues Harmonica” as a Co-Instructor at “Jon Gindick’s Harmonica Jam Camp for Blues and Country. So far, camps have been held in Irvine, CA and Austin, TX. Gindick’s Harmonica instructional materials have sold more than two-million copies worldwide.
He was also chosen to represent the TurboHarp harmonica line and perform 6 shows a day at the 2004 Summer Session NAMM show in Nashville, TN
Cooper’s long-term goal is to acquire corporate sponsorship and grants allowing him to present educational concerts, highlighting the history of the harmonica, and after school workshops for children across the country. Interested children at workshops would be given free harmonicas, with sponsor/grantor logos.
A W A R D S / R E V I E W S
2002 Jim Beam B.E.A.M. (Benefiting Emerging Artists in Music) award, one of 23 awarded nationwide.
2001 Yellow Pine Harmonica Contest—1st Place, Diatonic Division
2000 Yellow Pine Harmonica Contest—3rd Place, Diatonic Division
1999 Yellow Pine Harmonica Contest—2nd Place, Diatonic Division
Top Selling Jazz CD—www.mp3.com, January, 2002, March, 2002, April, 2003, September, 2003
#1 Idaho Artist—www.mp3.com, December, 2002-present
AMAZING GRACE-A Boy and His Harmonica, 2001
“Dennis M. Cooper carries his music like a Doctor carries his PhD. It is a part of his name, a part of his soul...it is the blues. You can hear it with every note of this song. He has lived the pain and the melancholy, he has lived this song. Amazing Grace...without knowing anything about the man behind this Harmonica, I would venture a guess that he had once been lost. And, now he's saved. There is a sweet tenderness, which mixes with just enough bitterness throughout this track.” Bottom line; this is the blues. I am giving a perfect score for lyrics because, with Mr. Cooper's skill I can hear them.”
Clint Gage, Gods of Music, 11/18/2001
MAXEY'S BOYS-A Boy and His Harmonica, 2001
Smooth...that's the first word that comes to mind while listening to Dennis M. Cooper play his harmonica backed by a jazz beat.
Jazz has a rich history fueled by wind instruments, guitar, piano, drums and vocalists. Harmonica has not usually fit into the jazz genre of music. After hearing Dennis M. Cooper I am left wondering why this hasn't been tried before. My first reaction to seeing this cut was, "jazz with a harmonica?"
I stand corrected. This cut is very much jazz with a harmonica and should stand beside some of the best jazz a
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