Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeffrey Stevenson
Hi Jeffrey, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My musical journey began back in the sixth grade in middle school band. In most schools, including mine, kids interested in saxophone had to start out on clarinet. I thought the saxophone was so cool that I ‘cheated’ the system by taking private sax lessons the summer before 6th grade and started middle school with some experience on the sax. I quickly fell in love with music and the saxophone simultaneously, which eventually led me to study music, alongside meteorology, at the University of Oklahoma. During college, I began filming lots of videos and playing gigs around Oklahoma in a variety of settings, from background jazz to rock shows. In summer 2021, I got one of the best opportunities of my musical career – I was invited to play saxophone on-screen in the Martin Scorsese film, “Killers of The Flower Moon,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone. This amazing opportunity further solidified my desire to be a musician for life. As I continued to work hard, I helped start a successful indie band, Bee & The Hive, and recently graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a master’s degree in Jazz Studies with an emphasis in Music Production.
A few months ago, I moved to Austin to pursue music with no solid plans. During this transition time, I began to reevaluate my identity as a musician and what exactly I wanted to be doing. I always wanted to build an internet presence as a musician and lean more into pop music, so I started to take it seriously and post more quality videos. One video of mine in particular blew up on TikTok where I played sax over Sabrina Carpenter’s “Bed Chem”. I’ve continued making these videos on TikTok and Instagram, where I’ve gotten the attention of some of my favorite musicians, including Sabrina Carpenter, Laufey, Dodie, Jonas Brothers’ saxophonist Gabi Rose, and one of my favorite saxophonists, Augie Bello. Recently, I’ve started to gain a following on both TikTok and Instagram as I’ve been releasing saxophone videos almost daily. While all of this has been happening, I’ve been performing regularly with Austin-based funk band Blue Tongue – most recently at the Dallas House of Blues. I’m also very excited to be bringing my band Bee & The Hive to Austin on October 17 to perform at Chess Club. I’m super grateful for everything that has been happening recently, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely has not always been a smooth road. For pretty much my entire life, I’ve had two passions – music and meteorology. I still do. My original plan for life was to go to school for meteorology and eventually get a PhD. It was during my undergrad that I especially fell in love with music and started to reevaluate my career path. After a lot of deliberation, I decided to go to grad school for meteorology because it was the more ‘responsible’ career path. In December 2021, after I completed my last exam for the first semester of grad school, I knew something had to change. I didn’t have enough time to continue to pursue music because meteorology was so draining. Immediately after finishing up for the semester, I made one of the most difficult decisions of my life and left grad school for meteorology. I had no plan otherwise, but I knew it needed to happen. Three years later, I know that this was the right decision. I’ve had lots of amazing and fulfilling opportunities in music, from starting a band (Bee & The Hive), playing sax in “Killers of the Flower Moon”, traveling to Europe, recording my debut album (“Hypsometric”), and now gaining traction on social media.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
As a saxophonist/composer/producer, I specialize in many genres including pop, jazz, blues, and rock. I pride myself on my versatility between genres while maintaining a high standard of musicality. As a full-time performing saxophonist for the last 2 years, I’ve played with rock/pop/funk bands, performed at weddings, and played countless jazz gigs. All the while, I’m grateful to have grown a social media following as a saxophonist.
There are a few things I’m most proud of: 1) starting a successful indie band (Bee & The Hive), 2) composing and producing my debut album “Hypsometric”, and 3) playing sax on-screen in Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon”. Most recently, I’m proud of the hard work I’ve been putting into videos on TikTok and Instagram.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
I believe dedication has been the most important aspect to my success. Growing as a musician takes an insane amount of time and you rarely see direct results. Throughout college, I practiced saxophone for hours a day, every day, even when I didn’t want to. I also went to countless shows late at night and networked when it would have been much easier to stay at home. I’ve also posted videos of me playing saxophone for years, which has required me to be especially vulnerable. Staying dedicated through times of self-doubt has been difficult, but it continues to pay off.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/jeffrey.sax
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffrey.tsax/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jeffrey.sax
Image Credits
Aurora Black
Cooper Anderson
Arnie Diaz Photography
