A Case of Sound: Cooper-Moore Live at Carl Hansen & Søn

On May 20, 2025, the Carl Hansen & Søn midtown flagship store in New York was transformed into an immersive sound salon—where design met soul, and craftsmanship sang. The afternoon unfolded not just as a listening session, but a deeply felt performance-art encounter, led by none other than Cooper-Moore, the boundary-defying improviser, composer, and instrument builder.

The event centered around Treble Clef Audio’s TCA-M Active Loudspeakers, acclaimed for their crystalline fidelity and sculptural presence. But it was Cooper-Moore’s curated playlist and live acoustic set—featuring his handcrafted Diddley-Bow, Hoe-Harp, and Banjo—that gave the speakers their most soulful test yet.

🎵 A Playlist With Deep Roots

The evening opened with Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You”, her smoky vibrato and orchestral phrasing floating effortlessly across the room, bringing stillness with it. What followed was a sonic journey spanning jazz, blues, baroque, and avant-garde, revealing the musical DNA that pulses through Cooper-Moore’s own sound.

• Oscar Peterson’s “Something’s Coming” crackled with swing and anticipation, as if foreshadowing Moore’s own off-kilter energy.
• Two selections by Glenn Gould—Bach’s Prélude and Allemande—brought structural elegance, a reminder that improvisation always nods to tradition.
• Muddy Waters’ “Mannish Boy” (in the Hard Again version) thundered through the room with raw masculine swagger—made electric through the sheer authority of the TCA-M system.
• And then, Ornette Coleman’s “P.S. Unless One Has”, where boundaries fully dissolved. An apt metaphor for Cooper-Moore himself.

Each track played through the TCA-M speakers was an experience: lush, present, and unsettling in its clarity. This wasn’t background music—it was emotional architecture.

🔨 Sound, Handmade

Then came the live segment. Cooper-Moore stood before the gathered guests, framed by Danish furniture and dusk light spilling through glass. He coaxed long, yearning tones from his single-string Diddley-Bow, its slide moans captured faithfully by the TCA-M’s low distortion architecture. His Hoe-Harp—made from an old hoe handle, strings, and love—rang with spectral resonance. His Banjo, stripped to its bare essence, offered rhythmic defiance and Appalachian truth.

🛋️ A Room That Listens

Set against Carl Hansen & Søn’s timeless craftsmanship, the music felt anchored. The chairs, lamps, and tables—each a study in form and function—seemed to listen too. The fusion of Scandinavian design and African-American musical ingenuity gave the evening a dual narrative of heritage and innovation.

• 🛋️ A Room That Listens
  Set against Carl Hansen & Søn’s timeless craftsmanship, the music felt anchored. The chairs, lamps, and tables—each a study in form and function—seemed to listen too. The fusion of Scandinavian design and African-American musical ingenuity gave the evening a dual narrative of heritage and innovation.

• 🕊️ A Resonant Evening
  The night was more than a product demo or a cultural showcase. It was a reminder of what music can do when it’s given the space—and tools—to breathe. Cooper-Moore’s playlist wasn’t just eclectic; it was a sonic autobiography, brought vividly to life by his hands and by Treble Clef Audio’s design-first fidelity.
  For those lucky enough to be there, the closing strains of Natalie Merchant’s “The Peppery Man” seemed to linger long after the system was powered down—like a whispered reminder of a night where everything—craft, culture, and courage—sang in unison.
• 🕊️ A Resonant Evening
  The night was more than a product demo or a cultural showcase. It was a reminder of what music can do when it’s given the space—and tools—to breathe. Cooper-Moore’s playlist wasn’t just eclectic; it was a sonic autobiography, brought vividly to life by his hands and by Treble Clef Audio’s design-first fidelity.

For those lucky enough to be there, the closing strains of Natalie Merchant’s “The Peppery Man”, as suggested by one of the evening's guests— it seemed to linger long after the system was powered down—like a whispered reminder of a night where everything—craft, culture, and courage—sang in unison.