In the world of music, there are moments of pure magic—when beats, rhythms, and souls align. These are the moments when an artist connects deeply with their audience. For Jeff Coffin, these moments are what he lives for. “Peak aesthetic, almost holy moments where everything is at once connected,” he calls them.
As a 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee with the Dave Matthews Band, a Grammy winner, composer, and Vanderbilt jazz saxophone instructor, Coffin strives to create these special experiences for his listeners. “I want you to feel what we’re feeling on stage, and I want to feel what you’re feeling as an audience member, where there’s no disconnect and we are breathing and moving together,” he explained. “It’s rare, and it’s everything.”
Coffin has been part of these electrifying performances with Dave Matthews Band since 2008. Prior to that, he spent 13 years with the jazz fusion ensemble Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, winning three Grammy Awards during his time with them.
In addition to performing, Coffin is an accomplished writer and producer, having released 23 albums. His latest project, Only the Horizon, blends jazz with a West African influence, showcasing his wide-ranging musical style.
For Coffin, music is not just about performing; it’s about helping others form meaningful relationships with it. This passion drives him to balance the demands of “road life” with the commitments of “home life.”
At home, Coffin shares a life with his wife, Ryoko, who he describes as the “happiest person” he has ever met. Their connection began nearly two decades ago when Ryoko was teaching yoga to members of the Dave Matthews Band. “She brings out the highest part of everyone around her,” Coffin said. “People like me, but they love her.”
Home life for Coffin also includes his work at the Vanderbilt Blair School of Music, where he has been teaching for the past decade. His influence extends beyond the classroom through music clinics in Nashville and worldwide, as well as his own label, Ear Up Records. He is also a co-founder of multicultural music collectives like AfricaNashville, which is featured on his latest album.
“I started my label to help lift others up,” he said. “To help get their music out there and see where it goes. To me, it’s about community and playing with authenticity.” Coffin is committed to playing from the heart, no matter the audience or venue.
Despite the time he spends on the road and in the studio, Coffin is deeply invested in mentoring the next generation of musicians.
“His dual life works because Jeff loves to teach,” said Ryan Middagh, area coordinator for jazz and global music at Blair. Middagh, who frequently collaborates with Coffin, added, “When we hired him at Blair, Jeff had already led over 300 clinics and masterclasses. He has the heart of a teacher, which not everyone has.”
Coffin teaches his students not only the technical side of playing but also essential life lessons such as overcoming conflict, managing ego, and playing with both head and heart. “I try to get them to understand the complexity of their own feelings, rather than just playing through,” he said. “It’s through that authenticity that the magic happens. And that’s hard!”
His own experiences have made Coffin a thoughtful and insightful teacher. “Jeff is a wild and funny guy, but as a teacher, he is very thoughtful and intense,” said Nate Spratford, a jazz studies major in the Class of 2027. “It’s a great balance between the fun moments in group settings and the more serious one-on-one sessions. He holds me accountable and helps shape my path.”
The relationships Coffin builds with his students extend well beyond graduation. “Jeff embodies musical inspiration,” said David Rodgers, a BMus’17 graduate and current artistic director at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. “From my time as a student to now working with him professionally, he’s always been creatively driven, always exploring new music and ways to involve the local musical community.”
Rodgers continued, “But it’s Coffin’s ability to include others in his creative pursuits that has had the biggest impact on me—as an educator, performer, composer, and human being.”
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