El Segundo, CA (March 16, 2026)—JLCooper Electronics announced today that its founder, Jim Cooper, died suddenly on January 5, 2026 in his home. He was 80. Cooper’s passing brings to an end a career that saw him become a force in the pioneering days of synthesizers, help shape the creation of MIDI and found a multi-faceted manufacturer that serves a wide variety of industries today.
Cooper started the company bearing his name in 1979, intending it to make accessories for the then-burgeoning music synthesizer market, but over time, it expanded its reach to serve audio and video production, television and radio broadcast, film editing, medical research and imaging, aerospace, education and other specialized markets.
Born October 18, 1945 to his parents Hal Cooper, a WW II Air Force veteran, and his mother, Beatrice, he began college in the 1960s at Riverside University, where he discovered a lifelong love of folk music, which he explored at the time by joining a jug band. Following a stint in the Army, where he was introduced to signals and electronics, Cooper returned to college to complete his Bachelor of Physics and Masters of Engineering degrees at UCLA in 1971. While there, he got a job working in the university’s electronic music studio where he maintained equipment and taught for five years.
Following UCLA, Cooper joined Oberheim Electronics as a consultant, but eventually became the company’s Chief Engineer. During his time in that position, Oberheim introduced its SEM synthesizer expander module, as well as two- and four-voice and OBX polyphonic synthesizers, which were used by Weather Report, Toto, Herbie Hancock and others. Notably, he also helped to establish MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) standard, and served as an early President of the MIDI Manufacturers Association.
• Mixing Carnegie Hall’s All-Star Billy Joel Tribute Concert
After leaving Oberheim, he started his own company, JLCooper Electronics, and began producing custom solutions that included MIDI products, synchronizers, control surfaces, mixer automation, music teaching lab systems, broadcast products, slomo controllers, video switcher controllers, planetarium controllers and more. While the company grew to develop specialty products for the diverse markets it served, it also implemented hundreds of finished modifications to existing products, as well as original designs.
Discover more great stories—get a free Mix SmartBrief subscription!
Jim Cooper is survived by his wife, Laurie Keough, children Quinn Cooper and Alan Cooper, and nieces Dana Pattison and Cari Eisle, daughters of Patricia Ann Cooper (sister), who passed away in 2020.