Buster Cooper (1929-2016)
„He played what he felt and what he heard,“ said John Lamb, who played bass alongside Mr. Cooper in Ellington’s band, and who became a good friend and neighbor. „It duplicated his vocal, and the way he talked. He was singing into his horn.“
So unique was his style that Ellington even wrote a song for him: Trombone Buster. But he befriended and backed so many legends over the years: Josephine Baker, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald, Cannonball Adderley, a young Quincy Jones. Wynton Marsalis revered him. Mr. Cooper was in such demand that he once turned down a personal entreaty to tour with Ray Charles.
Wusste ehrlich gesagt nicht einmal, dass er noch lebte …
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"Don't play what the public want. You play what you want and let the public pick up on what you doin' -- even if it take them fifteen, twenty years." (Thelonious Monk) | Meine Sendungen auf Radio StoneFM: gypsy goes jazz, #152: Enja Records 1971-1973 – 14.05., 22:00 | Slow Drive to South Africa, #8: tba | No Problem Saloon, #30: tba