BIOGRAPHYÒ The RedsÓ is the only suitable phrase for the smooth,
sensuous style of guitar playing that Craig T. Cooper has mastered. Not all
blues, not all jazz, Craig T. is the ÒThe Uncola
of JazzÓ and just plain ÒFunky-SexyÓ Craig T. Cooper is a recording artist, producer,
songwriter, arranger, M.D., sound engineer, programmer, mix and re-mix master,
owner of CRAIGLAND Studios, LA and an all around damn good musician. His credits are
endless and his experience is invaluable. So, letÕs start at the beginningÉ.Who is Craig T. Cooper?
Craig T. Cooper, the youngest of seven children,
was born and raised in
1984 marked the beginning of his
rise to prominence as a studio musician. His first big break with El DeBarge subsequently led to non-stop studio work. He
honed his craft and refined his style as he worked with such musical luminaries
as; Anita Baker, Bob Dylan, Barry Manilow,
The Boys, Rochelle Ferrell, The OÕJays, Vesta Williams, George Duke, Patrice Rushen,
Lalah Hathaway, Klymaxx,
LeVert, The Jacksons, The Crusaders,
and Tone Loc. To diversify, he worked on numerous movie soundtracks and
his own Ôpet projectsÕ. On occasion Craig T. also
hit the road and toured with Cheryl Lynn, Billy Preston, Ronnie Laws, LSG,
Gerald LeVert, Rahsaan
Patterson, and many others.
Subsequent to his touring, Craig
T. was signed to Valley Vue Records in 1989, which
spawned four critically acclaimed albums: ÒCRAIG T. COOPER PROJECTÓ
(1989), ÒGOT
THAT THANGÓ (1990), ÒDARKMÕNÓ
(1991) and ÒGREATEST
HITSÓ (1994). His collaboration with singer/songwriter Denise Stewart
would lead to the Standard ÒQuality TimeÓ from the ÒGOT
THAT THANGÓ album. Craig T. wrote and
produced the material, he also played all the
instruments as well as programmed, mixed and remixed the albums. These unique
abilities lead to engineering and mixing other records. Many artists, to name a
few, would contribute their talents to his original projects over the years
such as The Late Joe Sample, Bobby Lyle, George Duke, Patrice Rushen, the Jazz Crusaders, Gerald Albright, Howard Hewitt,
Ray Parker Jr., Gerald LeVert, and the most
unusual being a harmonica solo featuring Mykelti
Williamson of ÒForrest GumpÓ, ÒWaiting
To ExhaleÓ "Nashville"
andÒ AliÓ.
His success on Valley Vue
Records inspired SIN-DROME
records to
sign him in 1995. Craig completed two wonderful releases from the label;
the first being ÒTOUCH-TONEÓ
(1995), which
features his label-mates The Late Wayne Henderson and Wilton Felder of
the Jazz Crusaders on the hit single ÒCan I Still Play With The
Band?Ó. And the second named ÒROMANTIC
LETTERÓ (1996) featuring cover tunes such as ÒSensitivityÓ
(penned by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis) and ÒNever Too MuchÓ (written
by Luther Vandross) reaped some very positive
responses from the Masters themselves! In fact they were totally knocked out by
CraigÕs unusually bold treatment to their hits. ÓCAUGHT
UP IN A MOMENTÓ (2001) featuring Gerald Levert with a cover of the hit ÒPop,Pop Goes My MindÓ
which CTC did
the original production. Also on the CD features Gerald Albright and Kevin
Toney just to name a few. Craig
T's 8th album ÒHOUR GLASSÓ featuring
Ronnie Laws, Kevin Toney, Val Watson (Club Neuvou)
and others,
with a classic remake of Michael Jackson's Smash Hit "Butterflies",
and yes it's simply mesmerizing.
Craig T's 9th CD is entitled "NASTY MAN", which features living legend
Ronnie Laws and his son Jaman Laws
on sax, legendary drummer Ndugu Chancler, The Blackbyrds
own Kevin Toney, The Gifted Pianist Aya
Iwata from
Craig T. was blessed to not only do session work for the
sitcom "The
BERNIE MAC SHOW",
but also had Bernie's opening song for his stand-up act "Darkman Pt III". Craig T. Toured with LSG (Gerald
LeVert, Keith Sweat & Johnny Gill), as their
guitarist and featured on the Multi-platinum
LSG release "ShakeDown", and hit gold single "Door
Number One" from LSG's first
album. Currently heÕs back in the studio with Living Legend
Saxophonist Ronnie Laws.
His long time friendship and musical association with Gerald LeVert, blessed him a gold record for the hit
single ÒBaby You AreÓ which he co-wrote and
produced for the late Gerald LeVert. This would
be Gerald's last gold record before his passing. Craig T is currently touring
as M.D/Guitarist with the world-renowned neo-soul & r&b
Whew! Did I get it all? IÕm sure I left something out but if you want to get some serious sounds first hand, contact Craig T. on his web-siteÉÉ WWW.CRAIGTCOOPER.COM or E-mail DARKMN_CRAIGT@MSN.COM and take a look/listen/chat for yourself. You wonÕt be disappointed!!!