Daily Inspiration: Meet Jeff Miguel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Miguel.

Hi Jeff, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Having a passion for music made it so no matter how far away from the industry I got, I always came back. Despite going to college initially for science and working a coupe different jobs outside of music. I eventually went to grad school for music and then pursued it full time as my career.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Because music is gig work by its nature, there is no regulation for hours and pay. As a result, it can be hard to know how much you should be working and how much you should be charging. For a time, I was thinking I was successful simply because I was gigging several times a week. As I learned, that doesn’t really matter if the pay is not high enough and it is not sustainable if the hours are rough and the music and bands are not the ones you want to be working with. I learned by trial and error and am at a great place with it now.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a saxophonist and woodwind player. I perform, record, and teach. I play jazz, pop, R&B and more. I’m a voting member of the Grammy Recording Academy, the Woodwinds Instructor at Arapahoe Community College, and leader of the band The Sax Syndicate. I am excited for the work this band is doing. We’ve been around for a couple years now, and we are releasing our first set of recordings over the next few months. We are releasing a couple different EPs. The first one is a Cool Jazz EP that features local Trumpeter Derek Banach. The second is an EP featuring the core band of five saxes and full rhythm section doing some interesting arrangements of classic jazz tunes. Then, late this year we will be releasing a Christmas album. So, find us on social media @TheSaxSyndicate so you can stay up date with everything we are doing. We play shows in town at the jazz venues about once every couple of months. We are at Dazzle Jazz at the end of February and then with the full band in May.

Another project that I’m proud of are the recordings I made for the Sher Music Co Real Easy Book Vol. 1. This is a book of 42 jazz standards that are selected for being easy to improvise over. There are three part harmonies for horn players as well as suggested rhythm section parts. I use the book with my student groups. The recordings I made have both demo tracks as well as backing tracks. So, students can hear what it is supposed to sound like, and then horn players can play along with the backing tracks to have a full band sound. It has been a great tool to have in my ensembles, and I think any middle school, high school, or beginning college jazz combo could benefit from using the tracks. They are for sale on my website store.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I think my current level of success has come from taking a lot of little risks. This includes deciding to submit material for long shot awards, jumping in with lots of different musicians and bands, and listing services on various websites. As a result, many of these ventures lead to nothing, but the ones that do work out pay out in long term dividends and make the risk and investment worth it.

Pricing:

• The Real Easy Book – Audio Recordings – $39.99

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.jeffmiguel.com
• Instagram: instaram.com/jeffmiguelmusic
• Facebook: facebook.com/jeffmiguelmusic