Jim Cooper and the Jazz Connection

Jim Cooper, the award winning vibraphonist, composer and educator, has been playing the vibes for over 50 years, leading numerous groups and appearing both as soloist and sideman. Though, not exactly a household name among jazz vibraphonists, The Chicago Tribune wrote, “Cooper is not just a strong soloist but an accomplished band-leader as well…he played with a degree of subtlety and craft one does not often encounter in the work of performers far better known than he.”

Over the years, Jim has performed with some amazing jazz artists like Frank Wess, Milt Hinton, Mark Levine, Marcus Belgrave, Ira Sullivan, Buddy de Franco, Jon Faddis and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and Michigan musicians Dave Bennett, Jeff Haas, Jerry McKenzie and Tad Weed among many others.

In the 1980s he teamed up with pianist and composer Bob Dogan, the Jim Cooper/Bob Dogan Quintet appeared at all the major jazz clubs and festivals in Chicago. He has appeared in many clubs, concerts and festivals including Sutton’s Bay (MI) Jazz Festival, Lansing Jazz Festival, Sedona Jazz on the Rocks, Grand Rapids Jazz Festival, The South Haven Jazz Festival, Paradise Valley Jazz Party (AZ), Chicago’s Millennium Park, Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase, Chicago’s Green Mill,  Andy's, Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, Cleveland's Bop Stop and makes annual trips to Phoenix, AZ to perform.

After beginning an association with the legendary multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan, they released two Delmark recordings, Tough Town and Nutville and received favorable reviews, “. . . he’s no kid, judging by his mature lines . . . a warm vibist who goes for the heart.” Jazz Times After that, Jim released Itchin' to Groove, Trio Musik, Chi-Town Sessions and Make Someone Happy on his Jazmyn Records label.

Jim's awards include a 1996 National Endowment for the Arts grant, a WYCE-FM "Jammie Award," and ArtPrize's 2015 "Best Jazz Composition Award" for his song, Third Circle.  His song, Mallethead was included in the 2019 book, The City Was Yellow, Chicago Jazz and Improvised Music (phone number hidden)0.

Jim has taught jazz studies at the Taipei National Institute of the Arts, jazz vibraphone for the Jazz Institute of Chicago and Northwestern University and has given clinics and workshops around the country. Since 2001, he has taught at Blue Lake Fine Arts Summer Camp and is currently an adjunct music instructor at Lake Michigan College. He endorses Musser Vibes and Mike Balter Mallets.