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Rocky Yera

Cuban-Born Jazz Saxophonist, Composer, and Arranger.

About Me

Award winning, Cuban born tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger Rocky Yera began his musical journey at the age of twelve. Since his early years, Rocky received his main influences and musical guidance from multi-Grammy Award winning producer Richard Aspinwall. Rocky's other significant musical influences include Cannonball Adderley, Ed Calle, Paul Desmond, Stan Getz, Joshua Redman, Chris Potter, Jeff Coffin, Lenny Pickett, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Edward Van Halen.

Rocky has been acknowledged with several awards throughout his career. As a high school student at New World School of the Arts, he was awarded the Downbeat Magazine Outstanding Performance award in 2000. That same year he was chosen as a Vail Jazz Foundation Scholarship Recipient and was also selected to perform in the elite Grammy High School Jazz Band for the 2000 Grammy Awards ceremony.

Rocky studied jazz performance at both Miami Dade Community College and Florida International University as a full scholarship recipient. While at Miami-Dade he was granted a second Downbeat Magazine Outstanding College Performance award in 2003 and took part in two European tours including the Umbria Jazz Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival. During that time Rocky also toured Japan and Korea with Tito Puente Jr.

After completing his undergraduate studies Rocky moved to New York City, where he expanded his craft absorbing the city's rich and diverse music scene. Rocky moved to Chicago, IL in late 2008 to study at DePaul University under scholarship. While completing his Master's Degree in Jazz Performance at DePaul, he performed and recorded with legendary jazz artists Phil Woods, Ira Sullivan and Jeff Hamilton. Since moving to Chicago , Rocky has continued to win numerous awards including: 1st Place in the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation Jazz Improvisation Performance Competition and 4 other performance and composition awards from the Union League Civic and Arts Foundation and Luminarts, becoming a Luminarts fellow in 2014.

Throughout his career, Rocky has performed with many well regarded musicians including: Wynton Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval, Roy Hargrove, Eldar Djangirov, Howard Levy and many others. Rocky has had the opportunity to perform in various prestigious venues such as Jazz at Lincoln Center (New York), The House of Blues (Chicago), Dizzy's Club Coca Cola (New York), Minton's Playhouse (New York), The Green Mill (Chicago), The Jazz Showcase (Chicago), Andy's Jazz Club (Chicago), and Arturo Sandoval’s Jazz Club (Miami), among others.

Rocky is currently performing actively in the Chicago area, where he can be heard at jazz clubs, festivals, and city events, as he continues to share his music.

Rocky's debut album “Just Practice”, released May 30, 2018, features all original compositions, including several compositions that feature Rocky's use of guitar effects pedals with his saxophone. Rocky's use of guitar effects with the sax were influenced by multi-Grammy award winning producer, Richard Aspinwall, who produced the album, as well as by the the music of multi- Grammy winning saxophone superstar, Jeff Coffin of Dave Matthews Band, who is featured on one of the tracks on the album.

My Jazz Story

I love Jazz because it can often reveal the deepest feelings of a person. I first began playing the saxophone at age twelve. Since the beginning, I felt that playing music offered the opportunity to express oneself in ways not possible otherwise. During my teenage years I studied jazz by transcribing solos of my favorite artists, aspiring to become a professional jazz musician. I grew up playing in churches, performing at a different church every week with the Miami District Youth Band, led by multi-Grammy winning producer Richard Aspinwall. That group helped shape the person I am today, both musically and spiritually. During that period of my life I heard the music of Jeff Coffin. I was particularly drawn to his use of guitar effects pedals with his saxophone. From the first time I heard Jeff's music, I was determined to study and explore the electronic effects world as an additional musical palette. I began exploring these sounds with the help of Richard Aspinwall and I have continued practicing and developing them along with my jazz saxophone playing. I love composing and arranging tunes that highlight the different sounds possible when I pair my saxophone with the effects pedals and I feel that it allows me greater expression and can take the listener to different places. I had the opportunity to record some of these sounds on my debut album “Just Practice”. I am honored to have Jeff Coffin featured on one of the tracks.