Album Notes

The John Cooper Jazz Orchestra John Cooper (composer/conductor) Roger Ingram, David Hoffman, Art Davis, Brian Coyle Kenny Partyka, Russ Miller, Gunnar Mossblad Chris Collins, Mark Berger Rick Simerly, John Mose, Tom Garling, Mike Pashenee Matt Traeger ("Communion" only) Matt Michaels, Jeff Halsey, David Taylor Reverend DaNita Bell LINER NOTES First things first! Thank you for purchasing this recording. We have made every effort to relay a performance that conveys the enthusiasm brought to the music by these incredible musicians and wish you many happy hours of listening. This music was the result of a direct request to write a jazz worship piece by Garth Baecker. Mr. Baecker approached me and discussed the idea of a new piece several years ago. The Western and Eastern associations of the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ scheduled a celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the denomination for April of 2007, and Garth commissioned me to compose a work for the event. At the time, I assumed this would mean a single movement composition, but a meeting with event organizers revealed that they wished to have an entire worship service written! Through the course of the meeting, a few guidelines emerged. The church wished the piece to reflect their theme for the year which was light, and more specifically, This Little Light of Mine. Also, they requested writing a New Orleans sounding piece for the Offertory. I suggested utilizing music in all the traditional places within the service: Prelude, Gospel, Hymn, Offertory, Communion, and a piece for closing. Everyone at the meeting agreed and the only addition was a reharmonization of the traditional Doxology that follows the Offertory. The Offertory, composed first, presents a groovy New Orleans strut over an asymmetrical formal design. As composer, I wanted to reach way back into the jazz tradition and write a work that would feature the drummer, who creates this “2nd line feel.” Throughout the course of the piece, the band interacts with the drummer who serves as the glue that holds the work together. You can hear the band become downright snotty and childlike in how upsettingly playful they try to be while interacting with the drummer. In the end, the will of the drummer prevails, the band gets onboard, and the movement finishes never having compromised the groovy feel. Stunning solos are delivered by trumpeter Art Davis, trombonist John Mose, and bassist Jeff Halsey. The two big heros in the performance of this movement are our drummer David Taylor and our lead trumpet player, Roger Ingram who both give, without reservation, true offerings of musical greatness. The next piece I wrote was St. Anthony’s Light. The composition is a hardbop contrafact written over the tune of This Little Light of Mine. I wanted to set This Little Light in 5/4 time, and just before I began writing, decided to compose a new melody in a hardbop style. In the recapitulation, you can hear both the composed melody juxtaposed against This Little Light of Mine in the background. David Hoffman plays a great trumpet solo and Chris Collins follows superbly on tenor. Tom Garling turns in a great trombone solo. Hats off to the entire saxophone section for their interpretation of the soli! The Gospel: John 21, was selected by the officiating ministers and determined by the liturgical calendar for the date of the premier. In it, I tried to capture the carefree attitude of fishermen by the sea and their overflowing nets of fish, all while accompanying the reading. Matt Michaels’ piano solo adds a great deal to the presentation of the text that is energetically delivered by the Reverend DaNita Bell. I love her voice. It was about this time that I added the Doxology. The piece is a simple prayer written in a chorale style that has been substantially reharmonized. It is scored for brass only and DaNita Bell sings a beautifully prayerful rendition of this hymn. The