JEFF COFFIN
musician • educator
composer

Here is some of the info that Jeff presented during his NFA workshop including:
Voice Leading Grids, Improvisation, Making Mistakes, Why Learn Your Major Scales?, etc…

FREE PLAY-ALONG TRACKS IN THE DOWNLOAD!!

You can listen below to Jeff’s tune, SUNNY SIDE UP (flute solo version), and part of an upcoming project with JC playing a piccolo solo through a distortion pedal!!

Feel free to post yourself playing SUNNY SIDE UP and tag Jeff online!

Big thanks to FLUTE WORLD for carrying my book 10 IMPROVISATIONAL ETUDES FOR FLUTE
More cool stuff coming soon with them!!

MICS/PEDALS/ETC…

This is my personal pedal board that I use on my gigs. Basically, it’s the same as what I use with DMB. The key is to explore things and see what YOU like!

On flute I use a newer amplification system known as Micro-Cork…distributed by Tomasi Flutes at Flute World.
It’s revolutionary for live sound and there is no bleed from the drums or other instruments!! Check out the video below…

On sax with Dave Matthews Band, i use a clip on wireless DPA - the best available! On my own gigs, I tend to not be wireless for ease of travel and to cut down on gear. I often use an RE20 mic (a Shure SM58 will also work) with an impedance transformer so i can plug directly into the pedals, then I use an active direct box (active DI’s help boost the gain) from my pedals into the sound board. You will need to ask for phantom power from the board. You should also be able to plug directly into an amp if that’s your preference.

My pedal set up and settings from L to R:
Electro-Harmonix Q-Tron Envelope Filter (nano size) - gives a ‘whop/whop’ type sound…some have described it as a quacking duck (I’m not a duck)! hahahaha
Blue Sky Reverb - i always keep the toggle on NORMAL. You can really tweak this out and experiment.
Happy Cat Delay - tap tempo with lots of controllable parameters. (no longer avail commercially but you can find them used and others that are great!)
Electro Harmonix POG - This gives me an octave up and/or down, or both at once. You can roll in original tone as well…love this!
I have recently added the Electro Harmonix Pitch Fork to my board - this allows me to harmonize above or below a note, or both at once!!

A really great resource for pedals is www.horn-fx.com
These folks are SUPER knowledgeable and can help take some guesswork out of getting set up!
Reverb.com is also a great place to find all kinds of used gear and I highly recommend them! Used pedals are awesome!! : )

• • ABOUT JC • •
Jeff Coffin is a saxophonist, flutist, clarinetist, composer, and educator who has earned international acclaim for his work with Dave Matthews Band and Béla Fleck & the Flecktones, as well as his 25+ solo projects. Coffin’s approach to the saxophone is marked by a fearless sense of exploration, fusing jazz, funk, world music, and rock into a style that is uniquely his own.

A 3x Grammy Award winner, Coffin continues to tour the world as a member of Dave Matthews Band and captivates audiences with his powerful, emotive playing. In addition to his performances, Coffin is deeply committed to music education. He has been teaching at the prestigious Vanderbilt University since 2015 and has presented well over 400 workshops and clinics around the globe. He is the founder of an independent record label, Ear Up Records, and co-founder of AfricaNashville - which promotes cross cultural relationships between celebrated African and American artists in Nashville, TN. Coffin’s infectious passion for sharing knowledge has made him a respected mentor to aspiring musicians everywhere he goes.

On October 19, 2024, Dave Matthews Band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - Jeff is one of a handful musicians to attain this incredible musical honor!

Jeff is a Yamaha Performing Artist & Clinician, a Boston Sax Shop Ambassador, & a JodyJazz Artist.

For all things JC…
Please contact: Brian Horner

CHECK OUT
JC’S IMPROV APP!!

CONNECTING
THE DOTS…

HOW DOES IT WORK?
Using a one chord, two chord, and blues progression, Jeff will take you from the fundamentals of chord recognition and voice leading* into the early stages of improvisation and get you ‘playing the changes’!
*Voice leading is the way notes of one chord connect to the notes of the next chord. Jeff will demonstrate this by using only the notes of the arpeggios (1 3 5 7 of the given chord) to ‘voice lead’ from one chord to the next.

THIS APP IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON THE APPLE PLATFORM. SORRY ANDROID USERS!!