{"id":5052,"date":"2022-09-01T23:05:27","date_gmt":"2022-09-02T04:05:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/?p=5052"},"modified":"2022-09-10T01:12:15","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T06:12:15","slug":"sound-everywhere-coffin-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/postgenre.org\/staging\/4567\/sound-everywhere-coffin-i\/","title":{"rendered":"Sound is Everywhere: A Conversation with Jeff Coffin (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As this author sits at home recovering, it is impossible not to consider the immense downsides of the coronavirus. Almost six and a half million people have died worldwide from the virus. In such times, it is often thrust upon the artist to lift the populace’s spirits above their dire surroundings. As gigs dried up and tours became grounded, musicians increasingly focused on honing their craft, often with an eye toward music that will delight and, perhaps, provide listeners an escape from their surroundings. While this descriptor applies to many artists over the last two and a half years, saxophonist Jeff Coffin’s Between Dreaming and Joy<\/em> (Ear Up, 2022) is the epitome of this mindset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coffin is perhaps best known for his time as a sideman in two high-powered bands. First was his fourteen-year stint with B\u00e9la Fleck and the Flecktones, an ensemble that has forged its own diverse sound palate featuring its leader’s banjo and Future Man’s drumitar. For another fourteen years, Coffin has been with the Dave Matthews Band, providing solos rooted in the tradition of jazz music to audiences generally more steeped in rock. With the pandemic forcing the Dave Matthews Band to stop touring, Coffin turned his attention to composing new music. He became so focused on the task that he produced six or seven albums worth of tunes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first of these releases, Between Dreaming and Joy<\/em>, is a direct affront to social distancing’s cessative pressures on community. Relying on modern technology, Coffin assembled a wide range of artists for the record, including DJ Logic, Michael League, Robben Ford, Chester Thompson, Felix Pastorius, Marcus King, Jennifer Hartswick, Keith Carlock, and Chris Wood. None of the tracks feature the same ensembles, and as a result, each sounds incredibly distinct. And where virology mandated an end to travel, particularly overseas, Coffin brought the sounds of the outside world and the homestead together. Across the album’s ten tracks, instruments range from Morrocan frame drums to a bungee chair; from the jingle of an ice cream truck to the West African ngoni.

Between Dreaming and Joy<\/em> is a fascinating listen because it is incredibly upbeat, funky, and makes you want to groove. While the music may not as cogently fight COVID as this author’s Paxlovid, it helps provide some relief at a level far deeper than the mere physical that pharmaceuticals could not even try to reach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We sat down with Coffin to discuss the album, how it came together, and his times with both the Flecktones and the Dave Matthews Band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PostGenre: The pandemic provided you the first opportunity in over twenty-five years to focus heavily on composing. How can that ability to dedicate extra resources be heard on the Between Dreaming and Joy<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeff Coffin: Well, normally, my process gets interrupted by things like going back on the road or teaching. The pandemic, in a way, gave me a wide-open slate. The lack of other interruptions led to a particular type of workflow that allowed me to dig in and spend time composing. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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