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. He attended Arizona State University on a full jazz scholarship and studied under Chuck Mahronic.

He has also studied privately with world class pianists such as Kenny Werner, Fred Hersch and Uri Caine and has performed all around the globe with the likes of Mark Dresser, Terrence Blanchard, Tony Malaby and Martin Denny.