When you grow up listening to jazz with your father and watching your grandfather play the saxophone, it is only natural that your love for the sound grows with you. This was the case for Dayna Stephens and that sound grew into a groove all his own.
“I knew I always wanted to play the saxophone,” Stephens said. “My grandfather played. When you’re a kid in the 80’s, it’s like the coolest instrument and I was drawn to it. I dug the sound of it as well.”
Stephens has always been surrounded by music and now he shares his own with the world as a globally recognized saxophonist, composer, arranger and educator.
Stephens and his cross-generation quartet will close out our 2022-23 Community Concert Series with an engaging performance of “Jazz in the Now,” on Saturday, June 24 at 7:30 pm in Tateuchi Hall.
During their show, the quartet will be performing a variety of treasures and grooves inspired by traditional and modern sensibilities. The music will feature original compositions by Stephens along with timeless standards arranged by the group.
What can the audience expect from the performance? A true exploration of sound and a variety of vibes along the way.
“What they’ll hear is a bunch of guys exploring new music and bringing in some textures and improvisation along with some interesting grooves. It will be a variety of different moods. I anticipate an interesting harmonic and rhythmic journey.”
Stephens’s music education journey started in middle school. While his father often took him to live shows, in middle school, his family moved and at his new school, there was an extra free period. During the period, they could choose an elective and he chose a music class. He had taken piano lessons when he was younger but admits he always knew his instrument of choice would be the saxophone.
While he is mostly known for playing the tenor saxophone, he also plays the alto, soprano and baritone saxophone. He said he also plays the Electronic Wind Instrument (pronounced EE-wee), which he describes as a synth.
For him, it is a privilege to be surrounded by music and he has been fortunate to work with some legendary artists to help him hone his craft. He completed his formal music education at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He is also a graduate of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, where he studied under music icons who include Terence Blanchard and Herbie Hancock.
“It was unforgettable and madly inspiring,” he said of working with Blanchard and Hancock. “I learned a lot about composing from Terrence and ways of composing different things. Herbie was very in the moment and very playful.”
This is just one of many memorable experiences the artist has had. Over the years, Stephens has created and interpreted pieces for San Francisco’s Peninsula Symphony Orchestra, Berklee College of Music and the Oakland East Bay Symphony—for the latter of which he wrote a wide-screen arrangement of Dave Brubeck’s “The Duke” and his own piece “Haden’s Largo” (for Charlie Haden), according to his website: daynastephens.net.
Music is something that is always evolving. For him, he likes to focus on more than what hits the ear.
“A lot of instruments play notes that aren’t very lyrical. I tend to want to play melodies that resemble a more vocal quality versus a technical quality. It’s really a focus on the lyricism on how to play an instrument versus the technical.”
What’s his advice for aspiring musicians? Simply put: keep learning and remember that there is more than one way to grow as an artist..
“Learn from as many different perspectives as possible…” he said. “Keep evolving. There’s so many different ways of evolving.”
By TaLeiza Calloway-Appleton
