Come enjoy an afternoon of live jazz with the areas finest players. Sit in with the band and show off your chops or just sit and enjoy a cold drink while the music creates the vibe.
After playing for 20 years, Michael Coppola, on a mission to solve the age old problem of executing jazz piano voicing on guitar, created a tuning for an 8 stringed instrument. This new type of guitar, with inner high end strings was the predecessor to the 9 string "hydra", which became Coppola’s instrument for life.
Michael Coppola has become one of a small handful of guitarists who have pushed the boundaries of the instrument, and the only to come up with this unique tuning. Reviews of his CDs have been filled with descriptions such as unique, amazing, mindboggling, magical, inventive and so much more.
He has played at major guitar shows and concerts throughout the world including the
Montreal Jazz Festival, The Chet Atkins Festival, Namm, and many others, as well as
some of the country’s top jazz clubs such as the Blue Note, The Iridium,
Knickerbocker and many others.
Mainly a solo artist, Coppola has also performed or recorded with many of today’s top
musicians, especially guitarists such as Gene Bertoncini, Jack Wilkins, Tony Purrone,
Howard Alden, Stephen Bennett, Tommy Emmanuel, and Joscho Stephan. Michael
was a regular guest on Monday nights at the Iridium, invited by Les Paul himself.
Lately, he has been performing with his 17 year old prodigy daughter Michaela, who is
the CT high school Allstate jazz guitarist as well as the national honor ensemble jazz
guitarist (#1 in the country).
Michael Coppola’s album Return Of The Hydra was chosen as a top ten pick for the
year 2002, in Coda Magazine. His original composition "Movin", released on the New
Impressions album, was a winner in the 2002 John Lennon Song Competition.
Reviews and articles about his work have appeared in numerous magazines including:
Guitar Player, Just Jazz Guitar, Jazztimes, 20th Century Guitar, and Fingerstyle
Guitar. Michael was listed as a main entry in acclaimed critic Scott Yanow's 2013 book
"The Great Jazz Guitarists, the ultimate guide". Yanow names Coppola "The master
of the 9 string guitar".