Chicago native, Aaron Koppel worked as a professional guitarist for seven years, playing in a wide variety of settings. He has performed and/or recorded with: Kris Myers of Umphrey’s McGee, Frank Catalano, Tim Warfield, Matthew Santos of Lupe Fiasco, Vince Welnick of the Grateful Dead, James Perkins, Chris Siebold, Greg Ward, Geof Bradfield, and many others.
The Aaron Koppel Quartet's debut album The Wild Call of the Multi-Tasker, released in 2007, was produced and engineered by Grammy-nominated Producer/Engineer Greg Magers. The Wild Call of the Multi-Tasker is currently being featured on Chicago's radio station 93.1 FM WXRT Jazz Transfusion, XM radio's Beyond Jazz, WDCB Public Radio 90.9 FM, and Santa Fe Public Radio KSFR 101.1 FM. The album has been reviewed in Chicago Jazz Magazine, Jambands.com, the Illinois Entertainer, and many other magazines and websites.
Music Reviews:
The Wild Call of the Multi-Tasker, the debut album by the Aaron Koppel Quartet, has a lot going for it. The musicianship is superb, the tunes are atmospheric, and there's a cohesiveness to the album that occasionally offers a very elusive quality. All in all, it's a nice way to start off a young career.
What makes this album interesting is hearing all the elements that he brings to the table. While this is solidly an "acid-jazz" album, you can hear bebop in his fluid lines. Of course, you can also hear loads of John Scofield's influence in Koppel's tone and ideas. One can also tell that he's listened to his share of classic seventies fusion and R&B. Strangely, though, for all the funk and grit to be found here, it's not really danceable. Instead, much in the vein of Medeski, Martin and Wood (another obvious influence here), this is funk on a completely different level.
“Aaron Koppel is a great and talented artist whose compositions have a distinct voice that must be heard.”
- Greg Magers, Grammy-nominated Producer/Engineer, Attic Recording
"Koppel is clearly a talented composer and arranger, capable of dreamy and soulful tunes that turn a long day at the office easily into a comfortable ride home."
- David Paul Kleinman, jambands.com
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