At the age of 4 Jacob Koller began studying classical piano. At age 5 he gave his first piano recital and before entering high school he won over 10 classical piano competitions (including the Arizona Yamaha Piano Competition). In high school he devloped a new passion for jazz and improvisation. He began working professionally in the Phoenix area from the age of 14, playing with the finest jazz musicians in the valley including Dennis Roland, Jesse Mcguire, Margo Reid, Dwight Killian, Dom Moio, and Fred Forney.