The Cookers

Latest Release

The Cookers - Album Art - Thumbnail

The Cookers, Look Out!
Due: September 24, 2021

High Res Photos

The Cookers - Album Art - Thumbnail

Click to download high res photos
Photo Credit: John Abbott

Press

Press Results  |  See All

Offbeat Magazine Features The Cookers

Legends That Sizzle: The Cookers Offer Hard-Swinging Music"Describing The Cookers as simply an all-star band doesn’t quite do justice to the...

Downbeat Review: The Cookers, Look Out!

The Cookers: Inflamed Soul "Together, they boast some 500 cumulative years on the planet, playing music tempered by a master control that maneuvers...

DownBeat Feature: The Cookers

The Inflamed Soul of The Cookers"As on previous five, the collective septet uncorks rarefied levels of inflamed soul improvisation emblematic of the...

NPR Reflects on 2021 Jazz, The Cookers

Reflecting on the wisdom of our jazz elders"If I have to choose one standout this year, my pick is The Cookers' sixth studio album, Look Out!" ...

Stereophile Review: The Cookers, Look Out!

December 2021 Jazz Record Reviews"4 Stars: Weiss's arrangements combine aggression and sophistication."  |  Read More at Stereophile

Jazziz Profile: The Cookers

Still Cookin’: Billy Harper enjoys a late-career awakening with The Cookers"Jazz history is rife with brilliant musicians who never received their...

JazzTimes Feature: The Cookers

The Cookers and Their Classic Recipes"The only things McBee and his bandmates have expected of each other during their time as an ensemble have been...

Stereogum This Month In Jazz: The Cookers

Stereogum features The Cookers - "The Mystery Of Monifa Brown""The Cookers are one of my favorite groups, period."  |  Read More at Stereogum

Offbeat Review: The Cookers, Look Out!

The Cookers, Look Out! (Gearbox Records)"While there is generous solo space for each musician to take off with enthusiastic support from the group,...

Washington Post Feature: The Cookers

In the Cookers, collective centuries of heat"Over 35 years later, in 2001, trumpeter David Weiss, an arranger and sideman for Hubbard, was...

Glide Magazine Review: The Cookers, Look Out!

Jazz Supergroup The Cookers Sizzle Again on Look Out!"Jazz royalty bleeds all over this esteemed septet who deliver their sixth album with Look Out!...

The Vinyl District Gives ‘A’ Grade to The Cookers ‘Look Out!’

Graded on a Curve: The Cookers, Look Out!"Choosing The Cookers as a band name establishes a level of self-awareness on the part of the participating...

Press Releases  |  See All

The Cookers–Living Embodiment of Heyday of Jazz–Plot Tour as Downbeat Puts Band on Cover & New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest Includes Them

Look Out! (Gearbox Records) Ranks Among 2021's Best Albums at NPR Music, Offbeat, Jazz Critics' Poll, Jazztimes & BeyondJazz supergroup the...

The Cookers’ Gearbox Records Debut Look Out! (Gearbox Records), Out Last Week, Shines at Press and Streaming

Band elevates after close to a decade and a half playing togetherFormed for a one-off Freddie Hubbard tribute concert in New York, The Cookers—the...

Jazz Supergroup The Cookers Announce First New Album in Five Years & Gearbox Records Debut Look Out! Out Sept. 24

Cookers Confirmed for New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest Set Oct. 9“Genuine all-stars”--Guardian “Individually, they've been at the core of the...

About

Bio

The Cookers – Look Out! – September 24, 2021

Experience counts, especially in jazz. The more time musicians spend interpreting tunes and interacting with others, the more articulation an audience can expect. You can hear the fruits of such work in the expressive language The Cookers bring to the bandstand and to their five critically acclaimed recordings, WarriorsCast the First Stone, Believe, Time and Time Again (which was the iTunes Jazz CD of the year in 2014) and The Call of the Wild and Peaceful Heart. This exciting all-star septet summons up an aggressive mid 60s spirit with a potent collection of expansive post-bop originals marked by all the requisite killer instincts and pyrotechnic playing expected of some of the heaviest hitters on the scene today.

Billy Harper, Cecil McBee, George Cables, Eddie Henderson, and Billy Hart all came up in the heady era of the mid 60s. It was a period that found the dimensions of hard bop morphing from their original designs, and each of these guys helped facilitate the process as members of some of the most important bands of the era. Hart and Henderson were members of Herbie Hancocks groundbreaking Mwandishi group; Cecil McBee anchored Charles Lloyds great 60s quartet alongside Keith Jarrett and Jack DeJohnette; Billy Harper was part of Lee Morgans last group, as well as being a member of Max Roachs Quartet and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers; while George Cables held down the piano chair in numerous bands including groups led by Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Dexter Gordon and Art Pepper.

David Weiss and Donald Harrison, from a more recent generation and the youngest members of the band, are experts in this forthright lingo, having gained experience performing with Art Blakey, Bobby Hutcherson, Freddie Hubbard, Charles Tolliver, Roy Haynes and Herbie Hancock.

Each member of the Cookers has spent time leading his own series of groups as well, and each has a keenly individual sound. But its the unmistakable power of teamwork that makes this music so commanding and resonates with a kind of depth and beauty that speaks of the seasoned track record of its principals (combined, the group has over 250 years of experience in the jazz world and has been a part of over 1,000 recordings). You can feel the collective weight of that experience in their CDs and especially in their live performances. Since this version of the band was solidified in 2007 the group has performed at venues around the world, including headlining the Newport Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz Fest, Playboy Jazz Festival, Vancouver Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz Festival, Northsea Jazz Festival, Jazz a Vienne, London Jazz Festival, San Sebastein Jazz Festival, Detroit Jazz Festival, Chicago Jazz Festival, Portland Jazz Festival, San Jose Jazz Festival, The Jerusalem Jazz Festival, The Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, Jazz in Marciac, The Burghausen Jazz Festival, Jazz Terrassa, The Healdsburg Jazz Festival, Jazz Viersen, Ronnie Scotts, SF Jazz, Dizzys Club Coca Cola and Yoshis.

After ten years together, The Cookers, who embody the serious-as-death commitment that it took to thrive on the New York scene some four decades ago” (Andrew Gilbert, The Boston Globe), recently released their fifth album, The Call of the Wild and Peaceful Heart, the follow up album to their four critically-acclaimed recordings, WarriorsCast The First StoneBelieve and Time and Time Again. On The Call of the Wild and Peaceful Heart again the incredibly high level of musicianship has only increased with the latest offering of fresh, challenging, boundary-pushing music from these legendary, revered, veteran improvisers.

 www.thecookersmusic.com

Credits

Tracklist
1. The Mystery of Monifa Brown (George Cables)
2. Destiny is Yours (Billy Harper)
3. Cats Out of the Bag (Cecil McBee)
4. Somalia (Billy Harper)
5. AKA Reggie (George Cables)
6. Traveling Lady (George Cables)
7. Mutima (Cecil McBee)

Personnel
Billy Harper- Tenor Sax
Eddie Henderson- Trumpet
David Weiss- Trumpet
Donald Harrison- Alto Sax
George Cables- Piano
Cecil McBee- Bass
Billy Hart- Drums

Produced by: David Weiss
Executive Producer: Darrel Sheinman

Recorded at Van Gelder Recording Studio
Recording Engineer: Maureen Sickler
Mixed by Katherine Miller
Mastered by: Darrel Sheinman and Caspar Suttone-Jones at Gearbox Records

Publishing & Soloists
1. The Mystery of Monifa Brown Composed by George Cables (Cable Car Music BMI) Arranged by David Weiss
Soloists: Donald Harrison, David Weiss and George Cables
2. Destiny is Yours Composed by Billy Harper (Lyharp Music Publishing Co. ASCAP) Arranged by David Weiss
Soloists: Billy Harper, David Weiss and George Cables
3. Cats Out of the Bag (Composed by Cecil McBee (Lemac Music Co ASCAP) Arranged by David Weiss
Soloists: Donald Harrison, Eddie Henderson and George Cables
4. Somalia Composed and Arranged by Billy Harper (Lyharp Music Publishing Co. ASCAP)
Soloists: Billy Harper, David Weiss and George Cables
5. AKA Reggie Composed by George Cables (Cable Car Music BMI) Arranged by David Weiss
Soloists: Donald Harrison and George Cables
6. Traveling Lady Composed by George Cables (Cable Car Music BMI) Arranged by David Weiss
Soloists: Eddie Henderson, Donald Harrison and George Cables
7. Mutima Composed by Cecil McBee (Lemac Music Co ASCAP) Arranged by David Weiss
Soloists: Eddie Henderson, Billy Harper and George Cables

Contact The Cookers

Email  |  Twitter  |  NLE Media © 2020  |  Site by CM