Brian Choper

Exploring Ethnic Music, Jazz And Rock & Roll

In 1983, Brian won first prize at the Vienna International Music Festival for classical timpani. While in college, Brian studied with George Huttlin and Marshall Maley, drummer /percussionist, head of PAS VA who resides in Virginia. 1983 - 1985 Brian studied with the late drummer Buddy Rich in New York. From 1984 -1989, Brian freelanced, playing shows and Ragtime in various bands and theatre groups, while working with the Prince George's Philharmonic Orchestra. Interested in ethnic music, in 1985 Brian became the first drummer to play with the Capital Klezmers, at the time, one of the top three Folk bands in the country. Upon leaving this band in 1989, he joined the Machaya Klezmer Band as percussionist and set drummer. In 1992, Brian was selected to participate in the International Music Festival in Safed, Israel.

The Machaya Klezmer Band was not as well known when Brian first joined it, but he loved their sound and was confident that the band had the potential to attain national recognition. Just as in his first Klezmer Band experience, this band also had never performed with a drummer, and Brian thought he might be able to add to their sound. This band had already cut one album before he joined the group. Brian produced the group's second CD (entitled "What A Machaya"), and is also featured on it. This CD became the number two selling Folk album for 1997 (on the folk charts) and was rated as such in the prestigious Moment Magazine (August, 1997). As a result of Brian's public relations efforts and recognition with record distributors, the Machaya Klezmer Band soon became one of the top billing Folk bands in the country.

From 1997 through 2001, while still playing as a member of Machaya, Brian joined Nexus, a highly respected local Rock Band. During this time he did a lot of traveling throughout the United States and to Israel, Austria, Germany and other European countries while on tour with his regular bands and as a guest musician with other ensembles.

Managing Bands Of His Own

Brian became more and more interested in Jazz drumming. As of 2001 he left Machaya, and after performing at the Lansing Michigan Jazz Festival that Fall and meeting many of the performers attending, he decided to work with some of them and start his own Jazz/Klezmer band, and the Kol Haruach Klezmer Band (www.kolharuach.com) was born. In 2003, following the success of his Klezmer band, his continued intrigue with Jazz and his renewed interest in oldies Rock & Roll, he decided to form three additional distinct Jazz bands and one Rock band. These include the Choper Jazz Project, The Jazz Connection, and Nexus. (The Nexus band is named after his 1997 Rock band, a band that ended up being one of his favorites.)

The Choper Jazz Project (www.choperjazzproject.com) plays more straight up Jazz, The Jazz Connection (www.the-jazz-connection.com) plays upbeat Swing, and Nexus (www.nexusrockband.com) plays the Pop Rock and the complex Rock & Roll of the 70's and 80's, with a twist of improvisation. (It is not a top 40 band.) By 2004, the Kol Haruach Klezmer Band became a nationally renowned name in Klezmer and folk music. Brian is currently working on new releases for all of these groups.