Cooper-Moore is an American multi-instrumentalist and composer. He originally started as a jazz pianist but now creates his own instruments and plays outside the boundaries of any one genre. Recently he placed a three volume retrospective of his previously unreleased music from 1990 to 2010 on the Free Music Archive. The works range from solo pieces (”The Forest” and “In The Morning”) to vocal experiments (”I Know How”) to experimental suites ( “Anyone Seen Marie Laveau”). I like the artist best on his compositions for piano. Set three includes three exceptional duos with Cooper-Moore on flute and Clayton Thomas on bass. Overall, A Retrospective 1990-2010 is a fine introduction to this amazing musician.

While you are at WFMU’s Free Music Archive, you can also find two live performances by Cooper-Moore. CM Live at the Brecht Forum 11-7-2009 is an over 30 minute exploration with the artist on many of his unique instruments. There is also a improvisational duo track with Elliott Sharp. CM Live at the Issue Project 9-8-08 is actually a performance of his composition “Music: Old and New Paths” which is played on his homemade instruments. the 39 minute duration gives you an excellent look at the totality of the artist’s talents.

As mentioned, all three albums are housed at the Free Music Archive. They are freely and legally available in MP3 format through Creative Commons licensing.

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A Retrospective 1990-2010 Set 1
A Retrospective 1990-2010 Set 2
A Retrospective 1990-2010 Set 3
CM Live at the Brecht Forum 11-7-2009
CM Live at Issue Project 9-8-08