A bassist and composer with a unique voice, Rob Kohler has been a fixture of the Pacific Northwest music scene for forty years. He has appeared on over 100 diverse recordings as bassist or engineer. Primarily taught through gigs with his father and brother, Kohler also took formative lessons with Charlie Haden and Gary Peacock. He first caught international attention as a member of the trio In Flight, through their appearance at Montreux Jazz Festival in 1989. Since then his career has been focused on forging lasting relationships with his bandmates. He is known for his long associations with artists such as Alice DiMicele and Jared Burrows. Other longtime partners include Olem Alves, Len Aruliah, Eric Funk, Ann Tappan, the Platt Brothers, and many others. As a sideman he has also played or toured with such world class musicians as Danny Gottlieb, Ndugu Chancler, Jimmy and Tootie Heath, Jeff Ballard, Ambrose Akinmusire, and many others.
Recently, Kohler has played in the trio Betty Jane, appearing with them on 11th & Grant on Montana PBS in 2020. In 2018-19 he toured in North America and Asia with Halie Loren. In 2019, he released the critically acclaimed album Winter Colors on Origin Records, with his brother Lee Kohler, cousin Dave Peterson, longtime colleague Brent Jensen, and Origin founder John Bishop.
Kohler is also a beloved educator. For twenty years he taught K-12 music at Headwaters Academy, Oak Hill School, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and Inglewood District Schools. He has been a regular at the Stanford Jazz Workshop since 1991, serving as education director there from 2006-07. Kohler has also been an integral part of the South Delta Jazz Workshop in Vancouver B.C. since 2003. While on the NOCCA faculty from 2007-09, he created and directed the school's first middle school jazz program. In 2013 he wrote a beginning jazz theory textbook, Music Theory from A to G, and began a series of beginning jazz bass videos. Recently he has taught as an adjunct bass instructor at Montana State University in Bozeman.
Recently, Kohler has played in the trio Betty Jane, appearing with them on 11th & Grant on Montana PBS in 2020. In 2018-19 he toured in North America and Asia with Halie Loren. In 2019, he released the critically acclaimed album Winter Colors on Origin Records, with his brother Lee Kohler, cousin Dave Peterson, longtime colleague Brent Jensen, and Origin founder John Bishop.
Kohler is also a beloved educator. For twenty years he taught K-12 music at Headwaters Academy, Oak Hill School, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and Inglewood District Schools. He has been a regular at the Stanford Jazz Workshop since 1991, serving as education director there from 2006-07. Kohler has also been an integral part of the South Delta Jazz Workshop in Vancouver B.C. since 2003. While on the NOCCA faculty from 2007-09, he created and directed the school's first middle school jazz program. In 2013 he wrote a beginning jazz theory textbook, Music Theory from A to G, and began a series of beginning jazz bass videos. Recently he has taught as an adjunct bass instructor at Montana State University in Bozeman.
