BIO 

Jim Cooper, the award winning vibraphonist, composer and educator, has been playing the vibes for over 50 years, leading numerous groups and appearing  both as soloist and sideman.  Throughout his performing career, Jim has played or recorded with amazing jazz artists like Frank Wess, Milt Hinton, Mark Levine, Ira Sullivan, Buddy de Franco, Jon Faddis and the Chicago Jazz Ensemble and Michigan musicians Dave Bennett, Jeff Haas, Jerry McKenzie among many others. 

Jim has performed at the Chicago Jazz Festival, Sutton’s Bay (MI) Jazz Festival, Lansing Jazz Festival, The Chicago Jazz Festival, Grand Rapids Jazz Festival, The South Haven (MI) Jazz Festival, Paradise Valley Jazz Party (AZ), Chicago’s Millennium Park, Joe Segal’s Jazz Showcase, Chicago’s Green Mill,  Andy's, Baker’s Keyboard Lounge, Cleveland's Bop Stop and various venues in Phoenix, AZ.

Cooper made his mark in Chicago during the 1980s, performing in both the Jim Cooper/Bob Dogan Quintet and Poco Loco, a Latin jazz group led by pianist/arranger Gene Esposito. After beginning an association with the legendary multi-instrumentalist Ira Sullivan in the late 80s, he became a Delmark Recording Artist, recording two Delmark CDs, Tough Town and Nutville.  Jazz Times Magazine wrote, “he’s no kid, judging by his mature lines . . . a warm vibist who goes for the heart.” Later, Jim released Itchin' to Groove, Trio Musik, Chi-Town Sessions and his latest, Make Someone Happy on his Jazmyn Records label. These are available on his website, www.jimcooper.net.

Jim's awards include a 1996 National Endowment for the Arts grant, a WYCE-FM "Jammie Award," and a 2015 ArtPrize "Best Jazz Composition Award" for his song, Third Circle.  His song, Mallethead  was included in the 2019 book, The City Was Yellow, Chicago Jazz and Improvised Music 1980-2010.  He recently published a book of his compositions, Cookin' with Coop, the Jazz Music of Jim Cooper.

As an educator, Jim has taught jazz studies at the Taipei National Institute of the Arts, jazz vibraphone for the Jazz Institute of Chicago and Northwestern University and has taught 20 summers at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.He currently teaches jazz piano at Lake Michigan College where he has taught on and off for over twenty years. He has a B.A. from Northeastern Illinois University and an M.M. from Northern Illinois University.

Cooper is a Musser Performing Artist and plays Musser vibes and marimbas and endorses Balter Mallets.

In 2026, he co-founded Lakeshore Jazz Connection in Saugatuck/Douglas Michigan, a non-profit group dedicated to jazz performance and education and currently serves as it's President and Artistic Director. 

SELECTED PERFORMANCES

Chicago Jazz Festival, IL

Baker's Keyboard Lounge, MI

Jazz Showcase, IL

South Haven Jazz Festival, MI

Cliff Bells, MI

Sutton's Bay Jazz festival, MI

The Alluvion, MI

The Green Mill, IL

The Bop Stop, OH

Dennos Museum, MI

Lakeshore Jazz Connection, MI

Jazz in the Hills, AZ

Millenium Park, IL

Merriam's Playhouse, IN

Northwestern Univesity, IL

National Institute of the Arts, Taiwan