Jacob Yoffee(Profile/Biography)
United States
English
A polished and sophisticated performer. A full and focused tone, a strong sense of harmony, and angular lines.
With his thoughtful, passionate improvisations and innovative approach to composition, Jacob Yoffee is a unique new voice on the tenor saxophone. He writes in both classical and jazz genres and has won awards for his compositions. Jacob visited England in 1998 to see a one of his pieces performed at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and at the Royal Academy of Music.
Born in North Carolina in a military family: Jacob Yoffee moved often growing up, and spent his high school years in Okinawa, Japan. He began studying piano at eight and saxophone at thirteen, although he didn’t come to study improvised music until he arrived at the Peabody Conservatory in 1997. There, he majored in classical composition and jazz performance, studying with Morris Moshe Cotel, Christopher Theofanidis, and the saxophone legend Gary Thomas.
Jacob has had the opportunity to work professionally with Sean Jones, Poogie Bell, Roger Humphries, Dwayne Dolphin, Ingrid Jensen, Paul Bollenback, Mike Formanek, and Darin Atwater & the Soulful Symphony, touring with both Bell and Jones. He has taught privately for ten years.
His own groups: Currently Jacob leads his quartet, M.A.J.I. (Murray Avenue Jazz Initiative), a scaled-down big band, and Metaphor, a four-piece electric group.
Jacob’s award-winning playing is immediately identifiable.
With his thoughtful, passionate improvisations and innovative approach to composition, Jacob Yoffee is a unique new voice on the tenor saxophone. He writes in both classical and jazz genres and has won awards for his compositions. Jacob visited England in 1998 to see a one of his pieces performed at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and at the Royal Academy of Music.
Born in North Carolina in a military family: Jacob Yoffee moved often growing up, and spent his high school years in Okinawa, Japan. He began studying piano at eight and saxophone at thirteen, although he didn’t come to study improvised music until he arrived at the Peabody Conservatory in 1997. There, he majored in classical composition and jazz performance, studying with Morris Moshe Cotel, Christopher Theofanidis, and the saxophone legend Gary Thomas.
Jacob has had the opportunity to work professionally with Sean Jones, Poogie Bell, Roger Humphries, Dwayne Dolphin, Ingrid Jensen, Paul Bollenback, Mike Formanek, and Darin Atwater & the Soulful Symphony, touring with both Bell and Jones. He has taught privately for ten years.
His own groups: Currently Jacob leads his quartet, M.A.J.I. (Murray Avenue Jazz Initiative), a scaled-down big band, and Metaphor, a four-piece electric group.
Jacob’s award-winning playing is immediately identifiable.
