Artist profile
jason coffey
Jason is an American drummer based in China. He is the top solo drum performer for Nine Beats, China’s largest music education company. Jason currently records and performs with some of the nations top recording artists, including blues legend Zhang Ling 张岭, and his own band Eluvia. He endorses Sabian Cymbals, Dixon and SJC Drums, Promark Drumsticks and Evans heads.
Education and Teaching
His music career started in the United States where he learned the fundamentals from his father, a bass player, who encouraged Jason to join the band in his church when he was only eight years old. Jason went on to graduate with honors from the Atlanta Institute of Music and studied with world renowned drum instructors including Ray Luzier (Korn) and Tom Knight (TLC).
After graduation from music school, Jason began teaching in Atlanta music stores and quickly became one of Atlanta’s most sought after drum instructors, with more than 50 private students per week. His desire to develop his students further led him to open and lead a Rock music camp to help students form bands of their own. The students learned how to play together as a band, fostering communication and social skills needed to help them form bands of their own.
Performing
Jason is considered a “first call” live performance drummer and he has performed with countless solo artists and bands throughout his career. A number of these gigs have landed him on some of the biggest stages behind rising stars such as Niko Moon of Sir Rosevelt, and sharing the stage with Platinum and Grammy Award winning artists such as the 3 Doors Down, Lifehouse and the Zac Brown Band.
Musical Theatre
Jason’s education and versatile playing style landed him a job at the 14th Street Playhouse working for a Tony Award-winning musical theatre company where he played more than 600 shows for the longest running musical in Atlanta’s history. In conjunction with his work in the theatre Jason earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication at Georgia State University. Jason holds seminars teaching communication skills which are necessary to build strong and healthy relationships between bands and audiences.
China
Soon after graduation, Jason moved to Beijing where he met many students who were eager to study with him. They too wanted to learn how to form or develop their own bands. This led him to co-found a music training program in Beijing which eventually turned into a full-time music school which is still in operation. During that time, Jason also formed a few bands, including his current band Eluvia, an east-meets-west Folk/Fusion band who has just released their sophomore album, “No Ordinary Love.” Eluvia has gained permissions for national distribution throughout China, in addition to global distribution through iTunes and other music streaming services. Three tours are scheduled in China for the Spring of 2019.
Nine Beats 九拍
In 2017 Jason began working with Nine Beats, China’s leading modern music education company (covering 30 provinces, 1000 schools and 230,000 students) where he is currently on tour performing drum solos and master classes throughout their extensive network of schools, inspiring and encouraging students to reach their fullest potential.
Zhang Ling 张岭
Between solo shows with Nine Beats, Jason works with China’s most famous Blues singer and bass phenom, Zhang Ling. Since then they have been performing in front of large crowds on the nations largest and most prestigious stages including the Strawberry Music Festival and the Blue Note. In October of 2018 D’Addario hired Jason to play with Zhang Ling at the Music China expo in Shanghai. In December Jason recorded drums on Zhang Ling’s newest album which is set to be released soon. Their Spring tour in March launches from the south in YunNan, ending in the north in Beijing at the Blue Note on April 17th.