MP3 The Harmaniac Dennis M. Cooper - A Boy and His Harmonica

Virtuoso Instrumental Harmonica music in every genre and style. Smooth....

14 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Jazzy Blues, COUNTRY: Western Swing



Details:
Whether it's blues, country, big band, bebop, reggae, rock or easy listening, The Harmaniac, Dennis M. Cooper is there with the chops.

With a career spanning over thirty years performing with some of the finest musicians in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California, Cooper branched out with his first solo release, "A Boy and His Harmonica", in October, of 2001.

Since it's release, the album has seen the number one spot on MP3.com's "Top Selling Jazz CDs" on two occasions and every song has been in the top-ten of it's genre chart.

He's won many awards during his career, including a first place finish in the diatonic division of the Yellow Pine Harmonica Contest in 2001.

From the Oregon Coast to the Gulf Coast of Texas, The HarmaniacTM has entertained at festivals and fairs in his one-man harmonica show.

"It's not what people expect to hear coming from a harmonica," says Cooper. "I play a very melodic style and believe that everybody in the audience should walk away humming or whistling a part of something I played."

For his one-man shows, Cooper arranges and records every instrument himself and burns them to CD's. "I'm a lot more portable and affordable that way", he stated. "But if it's a "live" band you want, I have some of the finest back up musicians available anywhere."

Instrumental harmonica music hasn't been popular on the mainstream music market since the Harmonicats topped the charts with "Peg O' My Heart" in 1947.

"I intend to change that, quipped Cooper. "I've been accused by a few of my peers of being the "Kenny G. of harmonica players". "For me, it's all about getting my musical message out to as many people as possible and sharing the joy of the humble diatonic harmonica."

Cooper is currently back in the studio working on his second solo album project. "I've written some beautiful new songs, that are unlike anything I've ever heard performed on the harmonica." "Music is a large part of my life. I use it to express the joy, sadness, love and expectations that I encounter on a day-to-day basis."

Whatever his motivation, Cooper's music has captured the attention of general music audiences around the world.

AWARDS / REVIEWS

2002 Jim Beam B.E.A.M. (Benefiting Emerging Artists in Music) award, one of 23 awarded nationwide.

2001 Yellow Pine Harmonica Contest-1st Place, Diatonic Division
2000 Yellow Pine Harmonica Contest-3rd Place, Diatonic Division
1999 Yellow Pine Harmonica Contest-2nd Place, Diatonic Division

Top Selling Jazz CD-www.mp3.com, January, 2002, March, 2002
#1 Idaho Artist-www.mp3.com, December, 2002-present

"Dennis M. Cooper carries his music like a Doctor carries his PhD. It is a part of his name, a part of his soul...it is the blues. You can hear it with every note of this song. He has lived the pain and the melancholy, he has lived this song. Amazing Grace...without knowing anything about the man behind this Harmonica, I would venture a guess that he had once been lost. And, now he's saved. There is a sweet tenderness, which mixes with just enough bitterness throughout this track." Bottom line; this is the blues. I am giving a perfect score for lyrics because, with Mr. Cooper's skill I can hear them."
Clint Gage, Gods of Music, 2001