ROB COONROD AND THE JAZZ CABBAGE

Rob Coonrod, son of classical pianist Michael Coonrod and cellist Jean Coonrod, was born and raised in Interlochen, Michigan. He completed 4 years at Interlochen Arts Academy as a guitar and theatre major, and in 2001 he wrote and recorded his first album called “Waking Betty” with Flutist Jeffrey Barker and now-Grammy Winning film composer Jesse Lewis before graduating in 2002.  

After traveling solo with his guitar to Europe, busking in Ireland and Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany and Czech Republic, he then spent a year in Bolivia as a volunteer ESL teacher for a United Methodist sponsored  agricultural school called Rio Colorado in 2003.  Rob then attended CalArts for jazz guitar and composition/songwriting, studying under guitar greats Miroslav Tadic and Larry Koonse.  During this time he spent over 3 weeks in Cuba playing music with local musicians, after which he returned to Bolivia to travel and visit old friends and students.  

Rob then returned to live in Los Angeles where he played with his band Three Trees, became a member of Pink Fuzzy Animals (Formerly 100 Monkeys), and in 2013 went on his first solo tour for his album “Unidentified Funk Objective”, playing shows all over the contiguous US and driving over 14,000 miles in 2 months.

Rob and his wife Tara, who have been happily married since 2019, have since moved back to Traverse City, MI and started a medicinal mushroom company called MoonGarden Mushrooms.  In the evenings Rob plays several shows a week around TC and Michigan either as a solo act or with his band, Jazz Cabbage, and has been a featured singer/guitarist with Blues Traveler at Little River Casino in Manistee.  

In February 2020, Rob recorded a collaborative album of original and cover songs at Studio Anatomy with a studio band called Smokehowl (with producer Matt Koeplin and musicians Chelsea Marsh, Shane Brigham, Zeke Clemons, Brian Arnold).  Smokehowl released several more songs with the group in 2021. In 2024, Rob released a previously unheard song, “Get Forgot” that he had written and recorded in Los Angeles in 2013.

A new Rob Coonrod album is currently underway featuring guitar/lap steel player Matthew Valdiviez, with an array of styles from funk, bossa nova, country, jazz, folk and rock. Stay tuned!

www.RobCoonrod.com