Jacki Cooper

Jacqueline Anne Cooper (born December 2, 1967, Slough, UK) is an Australian jazz singer, known for her swinging, energetic vocals. She has released 5 independent studio albums and 1 live album and won Best Jazz Vocal in the 2010 Musicoz Awards.
She travels Australia with her husband, drummer and big band leader, John Morrison, teaching workshops at schools and music camps and appearing at festivals and jazz clubs.
Moving to Adelaide, South Australia in 1989, Jacki attended Dover Gardens TAFE College, earning a Certificate of Commercial Music (Performance) which lead to a Bachelor of Music in jazz performance at the University of Adelaide. On the suggestion of one of her tutors, Schmoe Elhay, she travelled to San Francisco to study at the Stanford Jazz Workshop at Stanford University, CA.
While studying for her music degree, Jacki was introduced to the jazz composer, David Dallwitz who invited her to join his dixieland band. Dallwitz became an influential mentor, teaching her much about early jazz.
In 2000, Jacki released her first recording, Jacki Cooper and Friends, which helped establish her name in the Adelaide jazz community. She followed up with Love For Sale in 2002 and was a finalist in the 2006 MusicOz Awards.
In 2006, Jacki moved to Sydney, NSW, and teamed up with drummer and big band leader John Morrison and joined his big band, Swing City.
In 2007, John and Jacki formed New Generation, a vehicle for promoting up and coming young talent, which featured Tim Fisher on piano, Karl Dunnicliff on bass and Bernard Winetraub on vibraphone. The quintet performed at Thredbo Jazz Festival and a live recording was produced. A studio album, Mood Swings followed in 2010, which included an original track, Play Me. This track earned Jacki the 2010 MusicOz Awards for Best Jazz Artist.
In late 2012, Morrison and Cooper teamed up with Australian jazz guitar legend, George Golla to record The Journey. A last minute addition to the album was renowned American alto saxophonist, Jeff Clayton, (Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra) who was visiting Australia to perform and record with John's brother, world-renowned multi-instrumentalist, James Morrison, and offered to play on 3 tracks in exchange for a fishing trip. In May 2015, Cooper released a duo album with jazz guitar legend, George Golla called Tea For Two.
Jacki and John are regulars at Australian jazz festivals, often appearing at Wangaratta Jazz Festival, Darling Harbour International Jazz Festival, Thredbo Jazz Festival, Noosa Jazz Festival, Moruya Jazz Festival, Dubbo Jazz Festival, Dingo Creek Jazz and Blues Festival, Stonnington Jazz Festival to name a few. In 2013, they launched their own festival in Port Macquarie, NSW - Big Band Blast, a non-competitive, festival for big bands of all ages, styles and abilities.

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