Tom Coppola

Tom Coppola
Birth nameThomas Wilkinson Coppola
Born(1945-06-06)June 6, 1945
DiedDecember 29, 2023(2023-12-29) (aged 78)[1]
Genres
Occupation(s)Pianist
Composer
Arranger
InstrumentPiano
LabelsColumbia
Formerly ofGoogie Coppola
Herbie Mann
Chick Corea
Lucianne Evans

Thomas Wilkinson Coppola (June 6, 1945 - December 29, 2023)[1] was a pianist and arranger, known for being a principal member of the group Air.[2] He also formed Evans and Coppola with vocalist Lucianne Evans and performed with the Tom Coppola Trio.

Tom Coppola began working as a musician in Manhattan in the 1960s, where he met Carolyn Brooks (soon to become Googie Coppola) and Air was formed. Air's self-titled first album was released in 1971.[3][4] The band's best known album, Shine the Light of Love was released in 1980.[5][6] Subsequently, the group went on permanent hiatus.

He worked for NBC as a music producer[7] on Saturday Night Live from 1984 to 1990. In 1991 Coppola went to the University of Southern California to study jazz. He later moved to Asheville, North Carolina, where he performed in several groups, including Evans & Coppola[8] and the Tom Coppola Trio, and taught in the music department at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.[7]

Tom Coppola died on December 29, 2023[1]

  1. ^ a b c [1]. Obituary for Tom Coppola from Allegro magazine (NYC musicians' union Local 802), February 2024
  2. ^ Cary Ginell (1 March 2014). The Evolution of Mann: Herbie Mann and the Flute in Jazz. Hal Leonard. pp. 124–. ISBN 978-1-4803-9249-6.
  3. ^ "Special Merit Picks". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 22 May 1971. pp. 47–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  4. ^ "High Fidelity". Vol. 21, no. 7–12. Audiocom. July 1971. p. 118. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  5. ^ "Sepia". Vol. 29, no. 7–12. Sepia Publishing Corporation. 1980. p. 10. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  6. ^ "On Jazz: Vinyl Pipeline". Cashbox, May 10, 1980. page 32.
  7. ^ a b UNCA Jazz Studies Archived 2010-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Jazz Duo Evans & Coppola Bring Brazilian Beats To Blowing Rock". The Mountain Times, May 15, 2003 by Jeff Eason. Archived at the Wayback Machine