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Jeff Coffin

Jeff Coffin is a globally recognized saxophonist, composer, educator, and is a member of the legendary U.S. rock group, Dave Matthews Band. You may also know him from his 14 years, and 3 Grammy Awards, with the genre-defying Bela Fleck & the Flecktones. Jeff fronts numerous groups when not touring with DMB and has released 15+ solo CD's on Ear Up Records.

Coffin is known for his musical passion, his melodically driven compositions, his deep involvement with music education, and his continued dedication to the improvisational musical art form some call Jazz. He is one of the top, in demand, saxophonists in the world as well as a first call studio musician in Nashville, Tennessee, where he has lived since 1991.

Jeff has released 17+ solo recordings, is a Yamaha Performing Artist & Clinician, a Boston Sax Shop Ambassador, teaches improvisation at the prestigious Vanderbilt University, authored four books, produces, engineers, mixes, and runs his own critically acclaimed record label, Ear Up Records.

In 2020, Jeff began a streaming concert series during the global shutdown to benefit his fellow Nashville musicians called IN THE STUDIO from iTAStudioStreams.com, where all the proceeds go to local out of work musicians and their families. Tune in every Friday at 7PM Central Time at www.facebook.com/jeffcoffinmusic - he’ll see you there!

Awards

Grammy: Best Contemporary Jazz Album, Outbound (2001) Grammy: Best Contemporary Jazz Album, The Hidden Land (2007) Grammy: Best Pop Instrumental Album, Jingle All the Way (2009)

Gear

INSTRUMENTS & GEAR: Tenor: Yamaha Unlacquered 82Z (prototype) Freddie Gregory Custom hard rubber mouthpiece (Mark IV) Boston Sax Shop reeds Boston Sax Shop Ligature Boston Sax Shop Silver Heritage Neck Alto: Yamaha 82Z Series unlacquered body w/Boston Sax Shop Silver Heritage Neck Soprano: Yamaha 82ZR Baritone: Yamaha YBS 62 Jody Jazz HR 8 mouthpiece want more info? email JC at [email protected]


Tags

16
Album Review

Ally Fiola & The Next Quest: Interblaze

Read "Interblaze" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Nova Scotian alto saxophonist Ally Fiola considers the themes of grief, wonder, fear and passion with her octet The Next Quest, on Interblaze. With a lot of low-end brass--baritone saxophone, trombone, sousaphone--the sound has a New Orleans brass band feel. It is also fun, celebratory music. The title tune and opening number sounds like a prance down Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras--beads flying through the air, people in outlandish dress dancing. An insouciant organ opens “Backtrack"; the horns ...

3
Liner Notes

Bass Extremes: S'Low Down

Read "Bass Extremes: S'Low Down" reviewed by Chris Jisi


Thirty years ago, a simple pairing changed the trajectory of bass. Steve Bailey and Victor Wooten, bonded by their mutual fretboard wizardry, sharp wit, and teaching philosophies, formed Bass Extremes, and the instrument and its community were forever transformed. The concept was quite ambitious. Steve was a rapidly ascending anchor for Dizzy Gillespie, Paquito D'Rivera and the Rippingtons, who had found his voice on the 6-string fretless bass and was taking the instrument to uncharted heights, with a soon to ...

3
Album Review

Steve Shapiro: Plan To Be Spontaneous

Read "Plan To Be Spontaneous" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


With mallets at the fore, a solid set of originals on the program and a strong cast in the mix, vibraphonist Steve Shapiro's musical voice and vision is clear-- and really something to hear--across this seven-song set. Working under the banner of a perfectly paradoxical title, he makes his mark from a number of angles--those of soloist, harmonist, composer and bandleader--and gives his bandmates their due. Sophisticated jazz-pop sets the scene as Shapiro shares the spotlight with ...

5
Album Review

Steve Patrick And The Music City Orchestra: Reflections

Read "Reflections" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


Back in the 1960s, sound technologies and in-studio recording/engineering advances were developing rapidly. Labels such as Solid State and Command Records produced brilliant, acoustically enhanced recordings, many done by New York studio greats such as trumpeter Doc Severinsen. Those companies leveraged technical advances to enhance the talents of the recording artists. As a result, it was a musically rich time for record buyers. With Reflections, trumpeter Steve Patrick, long an ardent admirer of Severinsen, delivers ten selections ...

11
Album Review

Robben Ford: Pure

Read "Pure" reviewed by Doug Collette


It's only fitting guitarist Robben Ford assigns a closeup of his chosen instrument to the cover of Pure. His devotion to the axe is at least equal to, if not greater than, the ardor he elicits from fretboard fanatics. But then that's a deserved devotion as the man demonstrates in less than two minutes at the very outset of his first instrumental studio album since Tiger Walk ( Blue Thumb,1997): the one-time member of Tom Scott's L.A. Express and Miles ...

5
Album Review

Jeff Coffin / Derek Brown: Symbiosis

Read "Symbiosis" reviewed by Robin B James


Rhyming dragons and synergetic saxophilia, in seven tracks. Two monsters of the single reed doing the sway. Oh, wait, what about the rhythm section? They brought their own! This duo has the intuitive chemistry that comes only from epochs of experience playing together. Jeff Coffin on tenor saxophone, bass flute, bass clarinet, and clarinet; one finishes the other's groove. Derek Brown on the tenor saxophone, baritone baritone, saxophone percussion (that's the slap-beat thing he is famous for), and of course ...

1
Album Review

Jeff Coffin with Caleb Chapman's Crescent Super Band: The Inside of the Outside

Read "The Inside of the Outside" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The first time woodwind artist Jeff Coffin heard Caleb Chapman's Crescent Super Band, he was greatly impressed--so much so that he decided to record an album with the band. You may be impressed too, especially upon learning that the Super Band, which sounds for all the world like a professional (or advanced university) ensemble, is actually comprised of high school students whose ages range from fifteen to eighteen. And in spite of its New Orleans-sounding pedigree, the Super Band is ...

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1

Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Jeff Coffin and the Mu'tet, Peter Martin, Funky Butt Brass Band CD Release, Thollem McDonas, and More

Jazz This Week: Jeff Coffin and the Mu'tet, Peter Martin, Funky Butt Brass Band CD Release, Thollem McDonas, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week's calendar of jazz and creative music in and around St. Louis includes the Jazz at the Bistro debut of a touring saxophonist who's already built up a nice local following; the release of a new album by some local favorites; shows from several fine piano players; and, as the saying goes, much more. Let's go to the highlights.... Tonight, saxophonist Jeff Coffin and his eclectic jazz-fusion group the Mu’tet will make their debut at Jazz at the Bistro ...

1

Video / DVD

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Jeff Coffin and the Mu'tet

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Jeff Coffin and the Mu'tet

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Today, let's spend a little time with saxophonist Jeff Coffin and the Mu'tet, who will be in St. Louis to play next Wednesday, November 19 through Saturday, November 22 at Jazz at the Bistro. Now based in Nashville, Coffin first gained wide attention in the 1990s as member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and in 2008 joined the Dave Matthews Band after the death of their original saxophonist Leroi Moore from injuries suffered in an ATV accident. The Mu'tet ...

Festival

Jazz This Week: Fareed Haque's Mathgames, Jeff Coffin, Johnny Boyd, Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival, the Wee Trio, and More

Jazz This Week: Fareed Haque's Mathgames, Jeff Coffin, Johnny Boyd, Old Webster Jazz and Blues Festival, the Wee Trio, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

If you've checked out the first three parts of StLJN's fall 2013 jazz preview, you already may have realized that we're heading into what could be the busiest three weeks of the season, with a wide assortment of touring musicians and special events coming up. Here's a look at the highlights of the next few days... Tonight, guitarist Fareed Haque brings his fusion band Mathgames to The Gramophone; saxophonist Chad Evans leads a quartet in a free concert for the ...

1

Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Jim Pugh, Jeremy Haynes, Amina Figarova, Jazz St. Louis Gala, Jeff Coffin, Chris Botti, Dan Thomas, and More

Jazz This Week: Jim Pugh, Jeremy Haynes, Amina Figarova, Jazz St. Louis Gala, Jeff Coffin, Chris Botti, Dan Thomas, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

There's jazz and creative music happening early and often throughout this week in St. Louis, and so to help make sure that you don't miss anything, here's a special early edition of the weekly highlights post: Tonight, trombonist Jim Pugh is in town for a free concert at at Maryville University presented by the St. Louis Low Brass Collective. Pugh is best known for his work with Woody Herman and Chick Corea, but also has been a top studio trombonist ...

Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Jeff Coffin and the Mutet Performance and Workshop, Tim Cunningham, Thomas Person, and More

Jazz This Week: Jeff Coffin and the Mutet Performance and Workshop, Tim Cunningham, Thomas Person, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

As is usual for the latter half of August, the menu of jazz and creative music for this weekend in St. Louis is light on touring performers and relatively heavy on local musicians. It'll be a few weeks before our town's various not-for-profit presenters and university music programs start their fall schedules and fatten up the calendar a bit, but in the meantime, there still are some noteworthy gigs to enjoy along with the unusually nice weather forecast for for ...

Recording

Saxophonist Jeff Coffin & The Mu'tet To Release 6th CD, "Into The Air, Sept. 4

Saxophonist Jeff Coffin & The Mu'tet To Release 6th CD, "Into The Air, Sept. 4

Source: Terri Hinte Publicity

Saxophonist/composer Jeff Coffin has maintained a singular balancing act for the last 15 years: His demanding, high-profile stints with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones and Dave Matthews Band provide a creative counterweight to his thriving careers as bandleader and educator. Since 2001, he’s led the one-of-a-kind Mu’tet, whose 6th CD, Into the Air, expresses off his unique, wide-ranging musical passions and will be released by Ear Up Records on September 4. “This is not easy music to play, but these ...

121

Recording

Jeff Coffin and the Mu'tet - Live! (2011)

Jeff Coffin and the Mu'tet - Live! (2011)

Source: Something Else!

Saxophonist and composer Jeff Coffin, a three-time Grammy winner, traverses a fine line on Live!, a record that feels both timeless and fresh. The beauty is that he and his Mu'Tet don't stumble into the pitfalls of either concept. That is to say, Live sounds old without feeling prosaic, and new without feeling too professorial. Coffin, a member of the Dave Matthews Band since 2008 who previously had a 14-year stint in Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, recorded Live! in ...

98

Performance / Tour

Jeff Coffin and the Mu'tet to Present Free Concert, Clinic on Monday, July 18 at Saxquest

Jeff Coffin and the Mu'tet to Present Free Concert, Clinic on Monday, July 18 at Saxquest

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

Saxophonist Jeff Coffin (pictured) and his band the Mu'tet are returning to St. Louis for a free concert and clinic at 5:00 p.m. next Monday, July 18 at Saxquest, 2114 Cherokee St on the south side. Coffin was in St. Louis most recently last October for a performance and workshop at Saxquest. His latest CD Duet, a duo effort with Mu'tet drummer Jeff Sipe, was released in April. Besides Sipe and Coffin, best known for his work with Bela Fleck ...

121

Education

Saxophonist Jeff Coffin of the Dave Matthews Band To Offer Free Jazz Masterclass/Performance at Cascio Interstate Music, April 9th to Benefit the Milwaukee Jazz Vision

Saxophonist Jeff Coffin of the Dave Matthews Band To Offer Free Jazz Masterclass/Performance at Cascio Interstate Music, April 9th to Benefit the Milwaukee Jazz Vision

Source: Jamie Breiwick

New Berlin, WI—Cascio Interstate Music, 13819 W. National Avenue in New Berlin, presents saxophonist Jeff Coffin, three-time Grammy-winner and member of the Dave Matthews Band plus Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. Jeff will appear on Cascio's Soundstage inside the Cascio SuperStore, from 11 amת pm on Saturday, April 9, 2011. His jazz band, Jeff Coffin & the Mu'tet will perform along with the Muskego High School Jazz Ensemble. Coffin, a strong supporter of music education, will conduct a FREE Masterclass ...

228

Recording

Jeff Coffin & Charlie Peacock: Arc of the Circle (Runway Records)

Jeff Coffin & Charlie Peacock: Arc of the Circle (Runway Records)

Source: Powderfinger Promotions

The most impressive part about this album is that it was recorded all in one sitting at Charlie's house in Nashville (a church built in 1912.) Oh yeah, and it was the first time that Charlie Peacock and Jeff Coffin had ever played together. The entire recording was improvised and the orchestrations and other players were added after they recorded their session together. It pretty much goes without saying, but when music greats such as Jeff Coffin and Charlie Peacock ...

Primary Instrument

Saxophone

Clinic/Workshop Information

Jeff is a renowned Yamaha Performing Artist and clinician, having presented more than 300 clinics worldwide. CLINIC OUTLINE: Jeff continues to stress and reinforce that the fundamentals are the essential building blocks or “roots” of music. “Without roots the tree doesn’t grow. The topics I cover are essential to the continued growth of ALL musicians at ALL levels.” These fundamentals are the ‘tools for your narrative.’ (JC) A solo performance by Jeff starts things off and what follows is a thoughtful, open, candid back and forth discussion with the students about what they heard…eventually re-connecting everything back to the fundamentals (The Big 5) that Coffin considers to be the most essential for students

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Interblaze

Arts Nova Scotia
2023

buy

Reflections

Green Hill Productions
2022

buy

Plan To Be Spontaneous

Solidtone Recordings
2022

buy

S'Low Down

Vix Records
2022

buy

Let It Shine

Ear Up Records
2021

buy

Pure

Ear
2021

buy

Back Track

From: Interblaze
By Jeff Coffin

Do You Still

From: Let It Shine
By Jeff Coffin

Backin' Up

From: Into The Air
By Jeff Coffin

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