Biography
Felice Kaye-Cooper
Biography
Music is a wonderful medium for an individual to express their talent. I was fortunate enough to study with some of the great composers, educators and conductors throughout my educational and professional career. Some of them include: Fredrick Fennell (Eastman School of Music, and University of Miami, Fla.), Sarah Caldwell, Glen Draper, Gerald Ross (NYU), Professor De Mille (NYU); and most of all my late father Murray Kaye, conductor, arranger, recording artist and excellent musician.
My name is Felice Kaye-Cooper. I was born into a musical family and exposed at an early age to many aspects of music and show business. From my grandfather, who played trumpet, to my dad, a percussionist and vibraphonist, I was always involved in the world of music. As I grew up, I won talent contests, did my share of club dating, performance, taught all aspects of music in junior and senior high schools in New York, and New Jersey, gave piano lessons and coached vocalists. However, my first love was always composition, whether for theatre, film, pop culture, or the piano forte.
I studied and wrote for classical piano, though I had an extensive background in popular music to explore that came very naturally to me. Being classically trained, I composed concertos, preludes and Chacone (theme and variations) but tended to lean towards Broadway theater and popular music. My educational background consists of a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts through my studies at Miami University, Long Island University, and New York University in musical theory and composition; and music education.
As I mentioned, my father musical conductor and arranger, influenced me greatly. He worked closely with Perry Como, Jackie Gleason, Cab Calloway, Tito Puente, Tony Bennett, Alan Paul who later became a member of the "Manhattan Transfer" and many, many more top artists. I was fortunate to know Mr. Bennett as a little girl and later on Alan Paul, among other performers. This wonderful exposure to the pop music genre influenced my style of writing and guided my creativity.
The ballad, "Why Did I Lose You" has elements of my entire musical background. It is Neo Classical and yet can hold its own with today's popular culture. From the "Intro" on, the melody line grabs your heartstrings as it ebbs and flows to a driving crescendo towards the musical interlude; accompanied by a very modern Latin rhythm. The lyrics are sensitive, sensual and allow the listener to draw his or her own conclusions to the meaning of the song through their imagination. I think any artist who will perform ?Why Did I Lose You,? cannot help feeling the pathos of the music whether it be for a film score or an individual recording. "The Lonely Guitar" is a show stopper and a very Shakira or Ricky Martin type piece with lots of sensuality and passion with a hot, hot, Latin (tango) rhythm. ?Don?t Break My Heart Again? was written with the hope of a Whitney Houston comeback. It is very different then your typical Pop-R &B songs of today and lyrically is very strong. Rhythmically very groovy.
Music today is making a turn around, which is why so many artists currently are returning to the Great American Song Book; and as they say, "everything old is new again." I have an extensive catalog of different types of material in the pop, rock, country and jazz genres....stay tuned this is just the beginning.
A new announcement. Starburst Records has taken me on to join their musical family. Thanks to Jay Carney for believing in me. Ii hope to make him and Starburst Records proud!On August 22, Starburst will release the first song "The Rain" ft.Jack Green/vocal