Saxophonist Rafael Ricky Statin Wilcoxson, born January 21, 1990 in Detroit, Michigan, attended pre-college education at Sterling Heights High School and Detroit School of Arts. He began playing saxophone at the age of 11 and seriously began to study jazz at age 15 with Saxophonist George Benson. During high school Rafael also studied and played with the Detroit Symphony Jazz Orchestra which is an educational program that provides Michigan's premiere young jazz musicians with pre-professional training that builds upon the strong traditions of jazz in Detroit. Rafael Statin has always been a man of numerous musical interests, from jazz, blues, gospel and funk to eastern and Asian-Japanese music. Influences are John Coltrane and Kenny Garrett.
