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Jeff Troxel is an award-winning guitarist, composer, songwriter, and teacher with over twenty-five years of professional experience. Over the years Jeff has performed with many notable artists, including Bobby Shew, Sunny Wilkinson, Frank Mantooth, Jack Reilly, Chris Merz, Ronnie Bedford, Bruce Escovitz, and James Naughton. While a graduate student at the University of Southern California, Jeff was a member of two of the school's premier jazz ensembles, ELF and Superaxe. He wore several hats including guitarist, composer and arranger for the groups. His 1996 recording Rising from the Plains was funded by grants from the Wyoming Arts Council and Northwest College and featured pieces composed for the ELF ensemble.
Jeff's skill on the guitar, musical versatility and curiosity led him down several paths to explore a variety of musical styles. Besides playing jazz, Jeff is an accomplished acoustic guitar player. He performs regularly with the Scottish group Glynfiddle led by violinist Randy Tracy. He collaborates with other singer/songwriters such as John Hermann, Ralph Sappington and Ann Tolstedt in a variety of folk, bluegrass and contemporary styles. Jeff was selected state flatpicking champion in his native Wyoming in 2001 and in Utah in 2003. In September of 2003 Jeff won the prestigious National Flat-Pick Guitar Championship at the Walnut Valley Music Festival in Winfield, Kansas.
Jeff has also been recognized and honored as a composer and songwriter. His bluegrass-influenced Sarah in the Sunrise won an honorable mention in the John Lennon Songwriters Contest and in 2001 he was awarded a Performing Arts Fellowship for composition from the Wyoming Arts Council.
Jeff's new recording November Sidewalk reflects a new direction in both his playing and career. Those used to hearing Jeff in a jazz or side-man setting will be in for a surprise. November Sidewalk showcases Jeff in the roles of songwriter, composer, arranger, vocalist, guitarist and engineer. The following are some of his thoughts on this recording.
I've always been a songwriter and a fan of great songs. If you looked through my collection of recordings, somewhere between J.S. Bach and Kenny Burrell, you'd find Jackson Browne. Along with Pat Metheny and Miles you'd also find Robbie Robertson, Joni Mitchell, Steve Goodman and Gram Parsons. Great music comes in many wrappings and the honesty and courage of thoughtful writers is more important to our society now than ever.
November Sidewalk is the result of musical ideas that have been living in my head for many years. It represents the end product of song fragments waiting in folders for their turn to come. It's been a long journey on a slow train, but it's finally over. I hope some part of my life as written through my songs will ring true as you listen, and that in hearing the music, you might hear something of your own life reflected and know that we are all on this journey together.
Over the years Jeff has taught music at the University of Southern California, University of Laverne, Northwest College, Central Wyoming College, and the Yellowstone Jazz Camp. He graduated summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music and earned a masters in Jazz Guitar Performance from the University of Southern California where he was inducted into the national music honor society Pi Kappa Lamda. Jeff has studied privately with Russ Barenberg, William Kanengizer, Larry Koonse, Joe Diorio, Joe Rogers, Joe Pass and Vince Mendoza.
