Jeff Coffin
OXFORD, Miss. – Two renowned jazz and rock musicians, who have a combined eight Grammy Awards, are coming to the University of Mississippi for a free music clinic next week.
Saxophonist Jeff Coffin and percussionist Roy Wooten will perform and discuss their music from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 20) in Nutt Auditorium. The clinic is open to all UM students as well as the general public. Students will be asked to provide feedback on what they heard during the performance.
“Jeff Coffin is one of the most innovative saxophonists out there,” said Michael Worthy, UM associate professor of music. “This is a wonderful opportunity for our students and local people to hear him perform and talk about his music.”
Coffin has been a member of the Dave Matthews Band since 2008. He previously was saxophonist for the jazz quartet Bela Fleck and the Flecktones from 1997 to 2010. He is a three-time Grammy winner and renowned composer with his own band, Jeff Coffin & the Mu’tets. As an educator Coffin has conducted more than 300 clinics as a Yamaha Performing Artist/Clinician.
Wooten, known to fans by the stage name Futureman, is a founding member of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. A five-time Grammy winner, he also is an inventor. He often plays the Drumitar, an electronic instrument he developed, and the RoyEl, a keyboard instrument similar to a piano that plays a totally different musical scale.
Worthy said he met Coffin last year and invited him to perform on campus the next time he was in the area. He hopes to persuade the saxophonist to return to campus for a performance with the Mississippians Jazz Ensemble.