Internationally acclaimed saxophonist with the Dave Matthews Band and three-time Grammy award winner with Bela Fleck & the Flecktones makes BLU debut with his genre-smashing all-star band! Featuring Jeff Coffin, Roy "Futureman" Wooten, Felix Pastorious, Bill Fanning, Chris Walters.
Jeff Coffin is an internationally recognized saxophonist, bandleader, composer and educator who has been traveling the globe since the late 20th century.
He is a three-time Grammy-winner as a member of Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, with whom he played from 1997-2010. In July 2008, Jeff began touring with Dave Matthews Band, and officially joined the group in 2009 following the tragic passing of founding member LeRoi Moore. When not on the road with DMB, Coffin fronts his own group, Jeff Coffin & the Mu’tet, and works around the country playing shows and presenting music clinics to students.
“Any band that jams like this has earned an exclamation point in the title of its live album…equal arts Galactic and Dirty Dozen Brass Band…(Coffin) enters like a spinning top, corkscrewing his phrases into a tightly wound circle that turns into a cyclone…”
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JAZZTIMES MAGAZINE
Artists with whom Coffin has shared the stage and recording studio include a “who’s who” of musicians, including Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, Dave Matthews Band, Branford Marsalis, Bob Mintzer, DJ Logic, New Orleans Social Club, Maceo Parker, McCoy Tyner, Baaba Maal, Phish, Mike Clark’s Prescription Trio, Galactic, Kirk Whalum, My Morning Jacket, Widespread Panic, Chris Thile, Willie Nelson, Chester Thompson, Garth Brooks, Van Morrison, J.D. Souther, Vinnie Colaiuta, The Dixie Chicks, “Rakalam” Bob Moses, Stanton Moore, Brooks & Dunn, Tuvan Throat Singers – the Alash Ensemble & Konger Ol Ondar, George Porter Jr., Umphrey’s McGee, Del McCoury, John Scofield, Yonder Mountain String Band, Marc Broussard, Martina McBride, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Wailers and many, many others.
Along the way, Coffin has absorbed an astounding range of influences. “Whether it be New Orleans Second Line, African, Indian Ragas, Brazilian, folk songs, Gypsy music, Alan Lomax field recordings, jazz, funk, etc,” he says, “the spirit and breath of the music is what I take away from the listening and playing. It’s what decides for me if I like it or not…I consider it ‘Spirit Music.'” Coffin is also known to play two saxes at a time, in a nod to the late great saxophonist Rahsaan Roland Kirk.
For his performance at BLU Jazz+, Jeff will be showcasing his Mu’Tet. Taking the name from the word ‘mutation’, the Mu’tet reflects Coffin’s philosophy that music must change and mutate in order to evolve. Featuring Jeff Coffin (saxes, electro-sax, flute), Roy “Futureman” Wooten (drums & percussion), Felix Pastorious (electric bass), Bill Fanning (trumpet & space trumpet), Chris Walters (piano & keys).