Jazz history isn't exactly short on drummers who’ve pushed the artform to new heights. Some of them, as we all know,managed to do it on a nightly basis. For today’s jazzdrummer, that means one thing: if you want to leave your mark, relying on chops and technique just isn’t going to do. You have to have a voice...
Though Sean Jefferson has certainly made it his life’s work to try and master the vast traditions set forth by drummers before him, he never set out to make music strictly for drummers. Or musicians. Or even jazz fans. Yes, he has studied rigorously. Yes, he has a knack for putting a fresh, cerebral spin on meter. Yes, he grooves hard and swings tight. But Jefferson has always, from day one, been in search of his own voice. And, though he is already pushing toward new horizons in jazz drumming, as a composer he points theway to a vision of jazz’s future as a language, and is never content to fall into the role of pedestrian beat-supplier. As faras Sean is concerned, drums must always fit into the greater whole of the music.
Sean has worked extensively as a touring musician throughout the East coast USA, Canada, and parts of Europe. He’s performed with other notable musicians including: Wycliffe Gordon (Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra), Tia Brazda (Canada), Elio Villafranca (Grammy Award winner), George Caldwell (Grammy Award winner), Dr. Lonnie Smith, Bill Easley (George Benson, Isaac Hayes, Stax Records), Marcus Printup (Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra), Lawrence Clark, JD Allen, Houston Person, Walt Weiskopf (Steely Dan), Bobby Militello (Dave Brubeck), Tia Fuller (Beyoncé), Marcus Strickland, Brownman Ali (Canada), Daniel Bennett, and many others.
Visionary drummer/composer Sean Jefferson is proud to announce the September 20th release of Dreamworks, his sprawling new album on Wycliffe Gordon's Bluesback Records. You may already know Sean from his full-time gig as the hard-grooving drummer in Grammy- nominated organ trio Paradigm Shift, but Dreamworks, Jefferson's second album as a leader, announces his arrival in grand fashion. Consisting mostly of original compositions by Sean, Dreamworks captures him truly coming into his own as a composer. With Dreamworks, Jefferson was striving ... read more
"Jefferson's epic compositions have the sprawl of classical music but demand hard-driving groove and hairpin time changes that demand imagination from the players as opposed to sheer precision....As a result, the music sparkles in four dimensions, the way music does when four people truly play as a group."
-Saby Reyes-Kulkarni (City Newspaper)
“....Sean Jefferson...challenges jazz conventions by pursuing unpredictable paths, creating a body of work that ignites the senses. Instead of following generic patterns, Jefferson leads his fellow musicians...into a spellbinding hybrid of cutting-edge and mainstream sensibilities.”
-JazzChill
“a tightrope between high-brow experimentalism and metropolitan cool.”
- Jazztimes
“...drummer Sean Jefferson and the extraordinary musicians he assembled for his RIJF appearance...last night they very well could have been one of the greatest groups in jazz.”
- CITY Newspaper (Rochester, New York)
"Jefferson's epic compositions have the sprawl of classical music but demand hard-driving groove and hairpin time changes that demand imagination from the players as opposed to sheer precision....As a result, the music sparkles in four dimensions, the way music does when four people truly play as a group."
-Saby Reyes-Kulkarni (City Newspaper)
“....Sean Jefferson...challenges jazz conventions by pursuing unpredictable paths, creating a body of work that ignites the senses. Instead of following generic patterns, Jefferson leads his fellow musicians...into a spellbinding hybrid of cutting-edge and mainstream sensibilities.”
-JazzChill
“a tightrope between high-brow experimentalism and metropolitan cool.”
- Jazztimes
“...drummer Sean Jefferson and the extraordinary musicians he assembled for his RIJF appearance...last night they very well could have been one of the greatest groups in jazz.”
- CITY Newspaper (Rochester, New York)
“Jefferson's drums are tribal in their savage march, reflecting the ominous allure of nightmares as well as the hypnotic transcendence of sweet dreams.”
-Ink19
“The critically acclaimed Jefferson has put together an impressive album which is at once highly listenable and yet ground breaking.”
-FREETIME Magazine
Masters Degree in Music & Music Education Available by appointment in-person/online.
Clinic/Workshop Information
Sean holds a masters degree in music and music education from Roberts Wesleyan College. He has studied both modern and classical percussion in addition to a lifetime spent mastering the infinite, ever-expanding vocabulary of jazz. A professional working musician and composer himself, Jefferson is active at the front lines of contemporary music and teaches from the perspective of an innovator who is up on today’s sounds
Masters Degree in Music & Music Education Available by appointment in-person/online.
Clinic/Workshop Information
Sean holds a masters degree in music and music education from Roberts Wesleyan College. He has studied both modern and classical percussion in addition to a lifetime spent mastering the infinite, ever-expanding vocabulary of jazz. A professional working musician and composer himself, Jefferson is active at the front lines of contemporary music and teaches from the perspective of an innovator who is up on today’s sounds. On the other hand, he comes at his lessons with an equally strong appreciation for the depth of jazz history and music history in general. Sean has always been fascinated with cultural rhythmic systems, and the reach of his curiosity extends to a broad variety of musics from around the world. As he strives to understand music from so many diverse perspectives, he brings a palpable, contagious sense of curiosity and wonder to his lessons, as well as an ability to render music – and make it understandable – via an infinite range of shades, colors, and textures. Lessons with Sean encompass the fundamentals of drumming and rhythm, as well as a thorough, comprehensive analysis of theory and foundational musical concepts. But, where Sean does feel that these aspects are essential to a musician's understanding, he also puts a clear emphasis on the individuality of the student. His belief that "technique should never interfere with artistic expression" lies at the core of his teaching philosophy. As a drummer who continues to devote himself to achieving command of technique, Sean stewards his students towards rigorous practice. But he also encourages his students to develop their chops to the point where they don’t have to think about them, so that self- expression always takes a front seat and the chops flow automatically, from the gut rather than the head. His sense of music as a holistic, all-encompassing way of life also plays a prominent role in his teaching style. Jefferson attempts to instill an awareness of music as it touches on all aspects of being. He helps his students become attuned to the musical nature of their own movements, speaking, listening, and other daily activities. He also stresses the importance of a thorough understanding of body mechanics, and of one's own body – its rhythms, its relation to the instrument and the other players, and its ultimate harmonic place in the world. After all, the body and mind are our primary instruments! Moving from the body to the spirit, Sean guides his students to the source of their creativity. And, because he approaches the drumkit as a kind of microcosmic orchestra unto itself, he encourages students to pick the drum and percussion components that suit their individual personalities and serve their artistic vision. Integrating all of the aforementioned principles, Jefferson has come up with his own unique teaching curriculum, which was the focus of his master’s thesis, Drumset Rudiments: A Research-Based Sequencing of Fundamental Movement and Coordination Skills for Beginner and Advanced Drummers.
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