Dr. Gloria Cooper grew up in Missouri, where she began playing the piano at the age of five. After training as a classical singer and earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music at the University of Missouri, Dr. Cooper moved to San Francisco, where her performing career flourished as a jazz vocalist and pianist. She was a mainstay of the city’s musical life at the Hyatt on Union Square, where she appeared during an unbroken span of 12 years. Her appearances in jazz clubs also flourished in those years, both as soloist and alongside such notable jazz musicians as Eddie Henderson, Donald Bailey and Herbie Lewis. Dr. Cooper moved to New York City in 1988 and completed an Ed.D in music from Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1992. She is currently teaching jazz performance at Long Island University, Brooklyn, where she is Assistant Professor of Music. Dr. Cooper is editor of Sing Jazz! a new book of popular/jazz songs that will available soon from Second Floor Music.
