Jeff Whitfield began his love affair with music at the age of twelve. He received his first guitar for his birthday and quickly showed promise with the instrument, as well as learning the piano and beginning to sing. He played with his family, friends and in church and practiced for hours a day. It was clear that music was going to be his vocation.
Encouraged by his family, Jeff began writing songs and learning from anyone who would teach him. After his first public performance in his middle-school talent show, he was hooked on performing. He continued his journey playing in garage bands and singing in the church choir. In high school, at age seventeen, he played his first professional gig.
He continued to play in local restaurants and in the high school jazz band. After graduation, Jeff went on to study theater in college. In the theater, Jeff's music skills were tapped as much or more than any acting skills. He wound up doing sound design and compositions. He studied for three years and received awards for best sound design, best male lead in a play, and best musical director for " The Me Nobody Knows ".
It was at this time that he began playing professionally with one of his early mentors, Ernie Lancaster. It was under Ernie's careful tutelage where he developed his love of Blues and Soul music. Combining Jazz, Blues, Funk, Gospel and Rock, Jeff began to find his own unique way of taking a song and making it his own.
At the age of 21, Jeff began his first recording project, "Kindred Bridges". It was produced with the help of executive producer Rod Billette and a lot of help from some very talented musicians including Marc Clermont, Ed Krout and Mike Parmelee. The album received good reviews and some moderate airplay on local talk radio station 104.1. It was then that Jeff formed a 13 year partner-ship with guitarist/vocalist, Mark Z. Jeff and Mark formed a solid fan-base and even formed a band called Macha Gray. Macha Gray recorded an independent release called "Imaginary Way" again with the help of Rod Billette and executive producer Ken Menzinger. After the eventual dissolution of Macha Gray, Jeff and Mark played as a duo for 8 years. Jeff and Mark played almost 3,000 shows together over the course of their time and have hung on to a loyal fan-base.
Now Jeff has thriving solo career, a beautiful family and a lot on his mind. A new album is on the horizon, he still has wonderful devoted fans, and potentially lots of new fans. Whether it's Blues, Rock, Pop, or Funk, Jeff Whitfield only strives to make music for your soul.
