JEFF COFFIN is an internationally recognized saxophonist, bandleader, composer, educator and author who has been traveling the globe since the late 20th Century. He is a 3x Grammy Award winner from Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, and played with them 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 Dave Matthews, Coffin fronts his own group, Jeff Coffin & the Mu’tet, teaches at Vanderbilt University, presents clinics around the world, and, in 2015, established the Nashville Jazz Composers Collective in Nashville, TN. In 2011 he started Ear Up Records as a place for new music and emerging, as well as, established artists. As a studio musician, Coffin has played on hundreds of recordings and is regarded as one of the top players in his profession. As a heavily in-demand D'addario and Yamaha Clinician, Coffin has presented well over 300 music clinics around the world to students in the US, South Africa, Australia, South America, Europe, Canada and Mexico to rave reviews. For news, music, and more please visit www.jeffcoffin.com Sometimes Springtime A unique recording of what might be considered Tone Poems or even lullabies. Sometimes Springtime is a beautiful, unusual, and occasionally, haunting musical soliloquy by one of the leading saxophonists in music today. "With this project, I’m exploring and examining the the beauty of simplicity as well as the beauty of tension. Have you ever heard one of those old wind up music boxes? My sister had one when we were kids and it had a ballerina on top - her's was missing part of an arm - and the music would sound a little 'off' because the springs had weakened over time. It almost had a wobble to the sound. Some of these tunes are written with that sound and feeling in mind. On this recording there are basically no improvisations occurring. There are some improvised fills here and there, but this is not an improvisational project per se. However, the tunes were written from improvisations I started on the Wurlitzer electric piano and built from there. I tried to retain the spirit and sort of ‘off-balance’ nature of the improvisation within the tunes and I think you'll hear that here. This particular Wurlitzer keyboard was gifted to me by my first band director in Dexter, Maine. Many years ago he sent it to me from Maine to Nashville in a big, heavy wooden box to protect it. That box was HEAVY! This particular Wurly is from the early 1970’s and was in the high school band room when I first started playing saxophone in 4th or 5th grade. It has a long history and there have been many, many tunes written, and recorded, on this beautiful instrument. My heartfelt gratitude to my late band director Arthur Lagassee for this and so many other gifts. On a couple tunes, you can hear that the tines (the pieces inside that get struck and make the sound) were going out of tune. That reminded me of the fragility of music, that tuning is a relative term, and how we are so used to everything being in tune when we record that sometime we miss the beauty of sounds that don't adhere to even tempered tuning. Using sound is like using color to me and we need to use different shades from time to time. I love how those couple tunes sound like a wind up music box whose springs have weakened over time and it’s struggling to play. It has almost a wobble to the tone and the ‘off’ tuning actually influenced the way i wrote those particular tunes. The entire recording is only about 30 minutes long but it's not an EP because it's a full statement. I think these days, because the digital format allows it, artists sometimes feel they have to provide large amounts of content. In this case, I think less is more. The tunes here are in the order I wrote them and some are as short as one minute and others as long as four minutes. I tried to let the melodies and harmony tell me what they wanted and I did my best to get out of my own way during the writing process. This music is about love and how it finds your heart." - Jeff Coffin Track List: 01) Falling (1:07) 02) First Steps (1:45) 03) Open Windows (1:51) 04) Love Cry (2:55) 05) Slow Whirling (2:27) 06) Round & Around (1:43) 07) Gathering (3:03) 08) The Celebration (3:58) 09) Tenderness & Tears (2:48) 10) Reflections (2:53) 11) Forward March (2:47) 12) Sometimes Springtime (1:43) Total Time: 29:39 Musicians: Jeff Coffin - wurlitzer electric piano sopranino sax soprano sax tenor sax Bb clarinet bass clarinet flute alto flute bass flute D whistle kalimba gong Additional Musicians: Chris Walters - wurlitzer electric piano (tracks 7 & 9) Fred Berman - drums (track 11) About the Musicians: On all but two of the tunes, I play Wurlitzer and all the saxophones, flutes, whistles, etc... My friend, and extraordinary keyboard player, Chris Walters, plays on those other two tracks and he really captured what I couldn’t. Chris serves the music in a sincere and deeply emotional way and I love working with him! Chris also plays and records with the Mu'tet and has a few solos cd's out that deserve more than a listen. The other guest on this project appears on track 11, Forward March, and that's my friend, and one of Philadelphia's legendary drummers, Fred Berman - aka Freddie B. You might be familiar with Freddie's playing with the great singer/songwriter Amos Lee. Such a beautiful player with such a deep spirit to his musicality. - JC Engineered by Jeff Coffin / ITA Studios / Nashville, TN Mixed by Greg Magers / The Attic / Nashville, TN Mastered by Jim DeMain, Assisted by Amy Marie / Yes Master Studios / Nashville TN Compositions by Jeff Coffin / Otani Music / BMI Design by Robert Hakalski / Visual Machinery