There are magical moments in music. Moments when beats, rhythms and souls connect. Moments when artists give and adoring audiences receive. calls them 鈥減eak esthetic, almost holy moments where everything is at once connected.鈥�
Coffin, 2024 inductee into the with , Grammy winner, composer and 麻豆传媒 jazz saxophone instructor, wants to pull you into a place where tunes from his saxophone become conduits to these authentic emotions.
鈥淚 want you to feel what we鈥檙e feeling on stage, and I want to feel what you鈥檙e feeling as an audience member, where there鈥檚 no disconnect and we are breathing and moving together,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 rare and it鈥檚 everything.鈥�
Coffin has been bringing these magical moments to life with Dave Matthews Band since 2008. Before that he spent 13 years jamming with jazz fusion ensemble B茅la Fleck and the Flecktones, earning three Grammy awards.
He鈥檚 also a prolific writer and producer, releasing 23 albums so far, most recently a musically diverse jazz album with a West African vibe titled .
鈥淚 knew early on that music would be my career鈥攖hat I wanted to live a creative life鈥攂ecause music, the vibration, the emotional content, made me feel and still makes me feel something that nothing else does,鈥� he said.
MAKING MUSIC MATTER
The jazz rocker has been working for decades to help make people鈥檚 relationship with music matter. It鈥檚 one of the reasons he juggles the duality of what he calls 鈥渞oad life鈥� and 鈥渉ome life.鈥�
Home life consists of being with his 鈥減artner in life and love,鈥� his wife, Ryoko. They met almost two decades ago when she was leading a yoga class for members of Dave Matthews Band.
鈥淪he鈥檚 the happiest person I鈥檝e ever known. She brings out the highest part of everyone around her when she is around them, and it鈥檚 kind of inexplicable but it鈥檚 very real. People like me but they love her,鈥� Coffin said, laughing.
Home life is also teaching at the for a decade now, leading music clinics in Nashville and across the globe, recording new artists through his own label , and co-founding multicultural music collectives like , who are highlighted on Coffin鈥檚 latest album.
鈥淥ne of the reasons I started my label was to offer something to lift others up. 鈥楬ey, man, let me help you get this music out and see where it goes,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淭o me, it鈥檚 about community and playing with authenticity. It doesn鈥檛 matter who or how many people I鈥檓 playing for or playing with, I鈥檓 going to play with heart.鈥�
TEACHER AT HEART
Even with the time he spends on the road and in the studio, Coffin focuses a great deal of his energy teaching and mentoring.
鈥淗is dual life works because Jeff loves to teach,鈥� said , area coordinator for jazz and global music, director of the jazz program at Blair and a regular collaborator with Coffin. 鈥淎t the point when we hired him at Blair, Jeff had already led 300-plus clinics and master classes ranging from middle school students to college students. He loves to teach. And he has the heart of a teacher, which not everyone has.鈥�
Coffin teaches students the technical side of playing, along with essential keys to success like working through conflict, managing ego, and playing with both head and heart.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to get them to understand the complexity of their own feelings, rather than just playing through,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 through that authenticity of the emotion that the magic happens. And that鈥檚 hard!鈥�
Coffin admits he鈥檚 had to work through these issues himself, which makes him a wise teacher.
鈥淛eff is a wild and funny guy, but as a teacher, he is very thoughtful and intense. It makes for a very nice balance between the fun moments, especially in group settings, and the more serious one-on-one engagements,鈥� said Nate Spratford, jazz studies major in the Class of 2027. 鈥淪tudying with Jeff is a lot like having a guide holding me accountable and helping shape my path.鈥�
The relationships Coffin builds with students last far beyond Commencement day.
鈥淛eff embodies musical inspiration. From my time as a student of his to now working with him professionally, I鈥檝e only ever known him to be voraciously creative,鈥� said David Rodgers, BMus鈥�17, current artistic director of .
鈥淗e鈥檚 always working on something new; he鈥檚 always checking out new music; he鈥檚 always looking for ways to involve the local and greater musical community in his creative pursuits,鈥� Rodgers said. 鈥淏ut ultimately, it鈥檚 been his drive to include others that has made the biggest impact on me鈥攁s an educator, performer, composer, author and human being.鈥�
EARLY VIBES
As a high-energy kid growing up in small-town Maine, his first musical memories are of bouncing on the seats of his parents鈥� car, listening to classic rock on the radio.
Coffin followed his older sister, Lori, into school band. She played the flute; the outgoing 10-year-old had his sights on percussion.
But fate鈥攁nd his first band director, Arthur Lagassee鈥攈ad different plans. That鈥檚 when he first picked up an alto sax and the trajectory of his life changed forever.
鈥淚鈥檝e always wanted to be able to sing. The sax became the 鈥榲oice鈥� I always wanted,鈥� he said.
Lagassee saw his talent and invited Coffin to play weekend gigs in a jazz trio the summer after seventh grade.
鈥淲e鈥檇 do weddings, parties, Elks Lodges, anything. My teacher had a huge repertoire for me to learn. And since I was the newest in the group, I鈥檇 sit in the back of the truck holding down all the gear,鈥� Jeff said, laughing.
The Coffin family moved from Maine to New Hampshire when Jeff started high school.
鈥淚 went to music camp at the University of New Hampshire for three summers, and it changed everything for me,鈥� Coffin said. 鈥淚 found my tribe and the direction of my life.鈥�
He鈥檚 still friends with some of the musicians he met at those camps.
BEING PREPARED TO SAY 鈥榊ES鈥�
Coffin studied music education at the University of North Texas and practiced voraciously, preparing to play songs in all 12 keys, in case he was asked to improvise.
After graduation he moved to Nashville and jumped into the jazz scene. That鈥檚 where he met B茅la Fleck, who invited him to play with the Flecktones starting in 1997.
The Flecktones were an opening act for the Dave Matthews Band over the years, and the two groups built a strong respect for each other. In 2008, Coffin stepped in for DMB saxophonist LeRoi Moore, who had been injured in an ATV accident. When Moore died suddenly from complications stemming from the accident, B茅la Fleck encouraged Coffin to move ahead with Matthews.
鈥淟eRoi鈥檚 sound is an integral part of the ensemble, so there are some songs where I play in homage to him,鈥� Coffin said. 鈥淎nd over the years I鈥檝e added my own sound.鈥�
HALL OF FAME
Coffin was in Florence, Italy, with his bandmate, trumpet player Rashawn Ross, when they heard the exciting news about being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
鈥淚t was very emotional,鈥� Coffin said. 鈥淎nd I was glad I was with Rashawn because he鈥檚 the person I spend the most time with; we stand next to each other on stage.鈥�
As part of honoring so many people who have walked alongside him, Coffin is donating a very special saxophone for an exhibit.
鈥淚 have an instrument being engraved for the Rock Hall with a bunch of my family鈥檚 names on there. I have the Japanese kanji for music, since my wife is Japanese. I鈥檝e got the initials of my first band director on there. I have a cosmic hippo from the Flecktones. And I鈥檝e asked Dave to draw something in honor of LeRoi that will also go on the horn,鈥� Coffin said. 鈥淭hese things on there are a deep part of who I am.鈥�
GROUNDED ROCKER
Coffin laughed when asked if he thinks of himself as a rock star. He instead shared his gratitude for a deeply creative life filled with love and support.
鈥淚 love my family so much, and聽I thank them for accepting the sacrifices of what I have chosen to do in life. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 been the easiest road sometimes for them, but I do feel their love and I am eternally grateful,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey are in every note I play and in every beat of my heart.鈥�
Story by Amy Wolf, Video by Randolph Infinger
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