George "Buster" Cooper (April 4, 1929 – May 13, 2016) was an American jazz trombonist.

Career

A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, Cooper played in a territory band with Nat Towles in Texas in the late 1940s and with Lionel Hampton in 1953. He played in the house band at the Apollo Theater in New York City in the mid-1950s, and following this he was in Benny Goodman's band. Late in the 1950s he and his brother Steve formed the Cooper Brothers Band. From 1962 to 1969, he was a trombonist in Duke Ellington's Orchestra. In 1973, he moved to Los Angeles, and played in jazz orchestras over the next several decades, including Bill Berry's band and The Capp-Pierce Juggernaut. He led a trio at a restaurant in St. Petersburg, Florida. In 1993, Cooper appeared as a jazz trombonist in the film Murder Between Friends, set in New Orleans. George "Buster" Cooper died on May 13, 2016, of prostate cancer in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the age of 87.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With The Capp-Pierce Juggernaut With Duke Ellington With Ella Fitzgerald & Duke Ellington With Lionel Hampton With Johnny Hodges With A. K. Salim With others