Bob Cooper

Like many West Coast tenor saxophonists of his generation, Bob Cooper's style was based upon skillful emulation of Lester Young's velvety, vetiver-scented tone, harmonic ingenuity and sinuous technique. The best introduction to this artist would be Coop! The Music of Bob Cooper, released in 1958 by Contemporary Records. Initially known as an exponent of the Stan Kenton Orchestra, he branched out and spent four decades as an all-purpose session man, serving in the reed sections of multiple studio orchestras while maintaining a steady presence on the cool, bop-inflected West Coast mainstream jazz scene.