Thomas Wilkinson Coppola (born June 6, 1945) is a pianist and arranger, known for being a principal member of the group

Air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

. He also formed Evans and Coppola with vocalist Lucianne Evans and performs 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. The band's best known album, ''

Shine the Light of Love Shine may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Shine'' (film), a 1996 Australian film based on the life of David Helfgott, a pianist * Shine, a fictional character in the American animated TV series ''Shimmer and Shine'' Lite ...

'' was released in 1980. Subsequently, the group went on permanent hiatus. He worked for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

as a music producer on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' from 1984 to 1990. In 1991 Coppola went to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

to study

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. He later moved to

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

, where he has since performed in several groups, including Evans & Coppola"Jazz Duo Evans & Coppola Bring Brazilian Beats To Blowing Rock". ''The Mountain Times'', May 15, 2003 by Jeff Eason. Archived at th
Wayback Machine
/ref> and the Tom Coppola Trio, and has taught in the music department at the

University of North Carolina at Asheville The University of North Carolina Asheville (UNC Asheville, UNCA, or simply Asheville) is a public liberal arts university in Asheville, North Carolina, United States. UNC Asheville is the designated liberal arts institution in the University of N ...

.UNCA Jazz Studies

Publications

* ''Jazz Standards for Piano'' , Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation, Jan 1, 1998

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coppola, Tom 1945 births Living people USC Thornton School of Music alumni University of North Carolina at Asheville faculty American jazz musicians American people of Italian descent