Aidan Cotner grew up in a household that was always flooding with music. His father, who was always blasting his old 80’s records, inspired him to want to be a “heavy metal rock god.” After picking up a guitar, he experimented with many music genres like rock, bluegrass, country and pop – thinking that was the way to a girl’s heart. “I realized that girls like musicians, so I’d start playing this neo-soul John Mayer stuff, and you know, girls liked that at the time, and I thought I was pretty hot.”  Cotner said.

Once Cotner was introduced to jazz, he began to realize what it felt like to be really passionate about music and started buckling down and getting serious with just one genre. Cotner has been committed to pursuing jazz for three years now.

Cotner’s passion for music is spilling over into his plans for future years at college. He hopes to become a collegiate professor and share his knowledge and passion for music, keeping jazz alive and appreciated. He feels lucky to have been able to obtain so much knowledge over the years and hopes to be a part of that continuous spread of learning about music. “I’ve learned so much from so many great teachers and I want to give back,” Cotner said.

Song: I’ll Remember April (soloing over)

Artist: Henry James and Duke Ellington