Sound Travels
The music from Sound Travels was picked from Jessie's 200-song catalog and these tunes come from his finest unreleased songs. As a sound sculptor, these songs take you on a musical adventure filled with world beat grooves and Cooper's distinctive soprano sax and harmonica performances. Get ready, 'cause Cooper and his band are ready to rock!
“SOUND TRAVELS goes well any time you want to transport yourself... via music... to exotic destinations. ...a welcome breath of fresh air to your music library.”
“....playful collection of gorgeous melodies and colorful arrangements”
“Sound Travels is a global and musical inspiration...nice mixture of jazz and new age music. ...awe inspiring and food for the soul.”
“Collecting session cats that have played with the best of the best, the sax man crafts a sweet world- beat date that straddles a lot of fences but always comes back to a great smooth jazz vibe. ...first call all the way.”
“...velvet soprano sax weaving across a heavy drum beat and mystical string arrangement. An interesting mix of styles and worth buying just for the smooth jazz tracks alone.”
“...wouldn’t feel out of place on the same rack as The Crusaders, Spyra Gyra, and Dave Grusin... Cooper has backed himself with a varied selection of excellent and sympathetic musicians who add their own magic to these tracks. ...I thoroughly enjoyed Sound Travels and would like to hear more....”
“Sax-and-harmonica player Jessie Allen Cooper has crafted some highly melodic and pleasurable jazzy instrumental music on his new CD, SOUND TRAVELS. Primarily. smooth jazz. ...he brings in top musicians to augment his sound.... Check out this diverse yet strong collection of instrumental tunes.”
“Sound Travels repays attention and repeated listens, as all the best albums do. Music as warm as a global sunrise. Recommended.”
“...richness in a manner that traps the ears and surrounds the senses.”
Produced and Engineered by Jessie Allen Cooper
Mixed by Steve Reid and Jessie Allen Cooper
Recorded at Cooper Sound Waves, Santa Monica, CA
Steve Reid's percussion tracks were recorded at Sonic Jungle, North Hollywood, CA
MIDI sequencing and additional Keyboards by Steve Katz
Engineers: Bryan Zee: recorded Steve Reid at the Sonic Jungle and mixing support at Cooper Sound Waves; Steve Reid: pro tools editing; Jessie Allen Cooper: instrumental tracking; Brandon M. Pert: Sonic Jungle assistant
Mastered by Dave Collins
Cover Design/Layout: Brian S. Hanish and Julianne White
Computer Editing and Prepress: Brian S. Hanish, Paradox Productions
CSW Studio Computer Maintenance: Chris Danes
© ℗ 2003 Cooper Sound Waves (ASCAP)
Sound Travels by Jessie Allen Cooper is a selection of music picked from a collection of over one hundred songs written and recorded over the last fourteen years. I sat with Doug Ross, the bass player on this project, and we hand-picked our favorites. Some needed to be totally rerecorded and some were close to being complete. My goal was to pick songs that fit together to give the listener a diversified sound experience.
A journey filled with multi-ethnic overtones, combining the talents of musicians that have studied different rhythms, instruments, and composition techniques from all over the world. This album has brought about a new level of creative participation for me. For the first time, I personally acted as the recording engineer on most of the performances, including those of my own. Being involved with the timing, and performance of each instrument and musician made the creative process especially rewarding. My personal relationships with the musicians and technical support team were better than ever making the reward even richer than before.
Sound Travels marks the culmination of many of my life's dreams all coming together at the same time. The success I've had in pursuing my dreams and passions has always come from following my heart. One great thing about life is that we all have the possibility of creating our own dreams if we keep doing what we love to do. "Sound Travels" breathes of dreams, exotic instruments, and sounds from around the world which I hope will be a musical companion as you follow your passions and dreams too!
Happy Travels! -Jessie
