Soft Wave - CD

After cultivating this imaginative intermingling of natural and studio sounds for more than 10 years, Cooper offers it to the mass audience for the first time on his Sona Gaia debut album, SOFT WAVE -- six heart-touching compositions capable of making significant waves in the domains of contemporary jazz and instrumental/ New Age music.

Against the soothing backdrop of the Pacific Ocean's surf (recorded north of Malibu), Cooper coaxes a variety of tranquil, refreshing colors from his soprano saxophone, restoring a glow of warmth and intimacy to the instrument that other performers may be overlooking.

"Many saxophonists play a lot more notes than I do," says Cooper, a Washington native now living in Southern California. "They wind up sounding busier, more aggressive. I play fewer notes, but I feel fewer notes can say more because each one is so important to the composition, to the mood. Not as many musicians are as familiar as I am with the soprano sax. I also play tenor and alto, but to me, the soprano is more of a spiritual instrument. It is the instrument that best expresses my personality."

Cooper wrote or co-wrote five of the six songs on SOFT WAVE. Co-producer/engineer Rick Krizman, plus synthesists Mark Cohen and Rusty Hamilton, all of whom perform on the album, also contributed to the songwriting effort. Key tracks include the inviting title song and "Talk to Me", which Cooper dedicates to bottle-nosed dolphins, which are heard frolicking among the melodic lines
of the piece.

1. Soft Wave
2. Snowflake
3. Talk To Me
4. Storm Over Toyko Bay
5. Solitude
6. One Lonely Night