Jeff Coffin (born August 5, 1965) is a saxophonist, bandleader, composer and educator. He is a three-time Grammy Award winner as a member of Bela Fleck & the Flecktones and played with them from 1997-2010. In July 2008, Coffin began touring with Dave Matthews Band, and officially joined the group in 2009 following the passing of founding member LeRoi Moore. Coffin also fronts his own group, Jeff Coffin & the Mu’tet, with which he released the album Into the Air on September 4, 2012. 　　Born in Massachusetts and raised in New England, Jeff began playing alto sax in fifth grade while living in Dexter, Maine under the tutelage of the one band director for the entire district, Arthur Lagassee. He attended the Summer Youth Music School at the University of New Hampshire for two summers in the 1980s, which he credits for his love of the music community and his love of mentoring young musicians.In 1993, after graduating from Spaulding High School in Rochester, NH, Jeff attended the University of New Hampshire for two years. In 1985, Coffin moved on to study at the University of North Texas, in Denton, TX, where he graduated with a B.A. in Music Education in 1990. A recipient of a Jazz Studies grant from the NEA, in 1991, he studied under saxophonist Joe Lovano.