by Kymberly Jackson
Fall, 1999
Violinist Extrordinaire
India Cooke is by far one of the Bay Area’s most talented and sought after musician, composer, and educator. She has performed in San Francisco Bay Area symphony and opera orchestras, chamber ensembles, and Broadway shows, most notably the long runni
ng Phantom of the O
pera, by Andrew Lloyd Webber. She has performed in traditional big band settings, with artist such as Joe Williams and the Louie Bellson Orchestra, and worked with major recording artists Sarah Vaughn Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick, Frank Sinatra, Barry Wh
ite, Diana Ross and many others.
After an almost thirty year career in the music business and music education, Ms. Cooke continues to push the envelope of creativity in composition and performance. In addition to the aforementioned cele
brity shows she works in, she is very active in the Bay Area Creative Music scene and is a founding member of New World Trio which was featured in Today’s Artists Distinguished Artists Series. Ms. Cooke, along with trombonist Angela Wellman are the c
o-founders of the bay area women’s jazz and improvisation ensemble Living On The Edge, a powerhouse group comprised of ten musicians and three dynamic dancers. In having the opportunity to view video footage of the group performing live in the early
90ís I am immediately struck by the visual influence of Sun Ra on the group. The music was ferocious and fiery with the powerfully aggressive violinist taking control and unleashing an assault of deftly articulated musical wizardry during her solos
. The influence of Sun Ra, as well as Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Music is felt throughout the entire performance. As a solo artist her most recent work is the CD Redhanded, an exciting compilation of pieces that she has bee
n working on with different musicians throughout the years. India has recorded sessions for Atlantic, Fantasy, and Stax records. She has recorded with the innovative if not eccentric Sun Ra as a featured artist on several of his albums as well as touring
with his “Arkestra”. She continues to work with many artists on the Creative Music scene such as Mary Watkins, Pharaoh Sanders, Babatunde, and Pauline Oliveros.
Ms. Cooke has a Masters in Music from the University of Michigan
and a Bachelor in Music from the North Carolina School of the Arts. Through her studies she has performed with orchestras and chamber ensembles on two European tours. As an educator, she was an Artist-in-Residence at the San Francisco Community Music Cent
er and at her private studio. Ms. Cooke has conducted lecture/performances in Bay Area public schools, colleges, and other educational programs including San Francisco Symphony’s New Ears Program, San Francisco African-American Historical and Cultura
l Society, and Oakland Museum and Mills College. Ms. Cooke is an innovative composer, for her creative works she has received a City of Oakland Artists Fellowship, and a Meet The Composer/ Rockefeller/AT&T Jazz Program commission. Among her compositio
ns are a collaborative score for the Oscar Micheaux silent film Within Our Gates, which premiered at the 1993 Mill Valley Film Festival, the sound track for a California Lawyers for the Arts video, and her current CD release, India Cooke-Redhanded. She is
member of Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society, American Federation of Musicians (Local 6), and American String Teachers Association. Ms. Cooke was also a pane member for the California Arts Council, National Jazz Service Organization, Stanford U
niversity’s Committee on Black Performing Arts symposium on the Black Avante-Garde, and the San Francisco Symposia of Black Choreographers Moving Towards the 21st Century. Whew, girlfriend is busy!
The following text is a result of two inter
views with India Cooke. The first, on Friday, October 1, 1999, and the second on Sunday, October 24, 1999. Here is what the sista’ had to say.
Kj What kind of music do you compose?
IC. Progressive - I cr eate a structure for the musicians to musically build on - A comfortable palate of available colors that the performers can build on. The performer along with the listener/audience is a part of the creation.
Kj. Why is it important for you, as a woman, to compose?
IC. It is a vehicle by which I can express ideas and communicate with like minded musicians and listeners.
Kj. What is your music about? What kind of statement are you making with your wor k?
IC. There is no statement. I exercise the resources available to me, i.e. I channel psychic energy, not exclusively musical energy, that I have gathered. Then I put together harmonies and melodies and rhythms and whatever comes out a s a result of this combination is the musical statement.
Kj. What has been your experience in this business, as far as being a Black woman?
IC. Because of my social and institutional training I have done pretty well i n this business. However, I as a black woman and other black women can hold our selves back because of our preconceived beliefs of what we think other people think of what we should be or who we should or might be.
My experience in the performing arts in Jazz as well as Classical is that the dominant male culture has a tendency to stereotype women in a curious light. If we are not singers we are not always taken seriously. Playing hot and heavy could be considered a gender wise personal dysfuncti on.
Kj. I recently had the opportunity to attend a live performance with you and Angela Wellman leading a quartet at ODC, New Performance Gallery, The Underground Jazz Festival. I was completely blown away by the performance. Can you ta lk a little about that?
IC. Yeah, that group was put together for that gig. Babatunde (the drummer) and Hashima (Bass) were much-desired acquisitions. We had two rehearsals. It was the first time Angela and I had been on stage together for a few years and the first time ever for this group. We were into having a good time! I felt excellent about the performance. It was an evening of discovery for the musicians.
Kj Let's talk about your recent CD Redhanded, what is this project all about?
IC. All original compilation of compositions of pieces that I have been working on with different folks throughout the years. In connecting wi
th this particular ensemble I felt it was time to put them on wax. I didn't think this style of music would be the way the songs would be performed, but it's cool. This is a heavy practical application of these pieces: the musicians; timing; the right fol
ks were in town, all of them, at the same time. I love working with trombone, a non-traditional rhytmn section all held together with lead instruments. The CD received excellent press and I got a European gig from it! I trusted that musicians that I picke
d to play would honor the music and take it to a wonderful place.
Kj. What are your goals?
IC. To find a way to be financially secure so that I may comfortably create my chosen art form.
I
ndia Cooke is a powerful Black woman. A composer, violinist, and educator. Her music speaks from many places in her self, spiritually, communally, and socially. She feels herself to be a musical egalitarian, ìI might give birth to this baby (music)
but every body got to help feed it, change diapers, etc.î It is a pleasure and honor to have her take time out of her very busy schedule to allow for this interview. She is the perfect synthesis of music academia and real world musician. I'll close
with the most provocative quote from these sessions,"perfection is in and of the moment." You go girl!
Kymberly E. Jackson