Personal
Jeffrey Noyes White grew up in the small, quaint village of Clinton, New York. He attended high school at the Putney School, located on a farm in remote, rural Vermont. In these settings Jeffrey developed an appreciation for the beauty and complexity of nature.
At an early age, Jeffrey displayed exceptional aptitude at math and science, writing his own computer game programs and drawing elaborate mazes. He began studying the piano at around ten years old; the guitar, twelve. Soon, Jeffrey grew fascinated by the geometry of music, and became obsessed with exploring all its possibilities…perhaps to the detriment of his social development.
Eventually, after becoming sufficiently aware of the cultural limitations of small-town life, Jeffrey considered broadening his horizons at various colleges and, feeling drawn by the mystery of the west coast, chose to move to Oregon, where he attended the University of Oregon. After college, he lived in Eugene for a few years, and once again decided to pick up the pace: in 1997 he moved to Portland, where he resided for 19 years.
Finally, as Portland grew too dense and expensive, Jeffree and his partner Kelli chose to settle in Washougal, WA — 10 miles northeast of Portland — in 2016; they were fortunate to buy a home. Jeffree married Kelli Rule in 2017 in their back yard. The house came with a studio space perfect for Jeffree to use for teaching, and the Washougal School of Music was born; since then, over 150 students in the community have enjoyed lessons on various instruments. In 2020, Jeffree was selected to serve on Washougal’s new Arts Commission for a period of 3 years.
Then, the opportunity came up to make a major life change: leaving the US for good, and moving to Mexico! (Read the post for the story.) Jeffree and Kelli now reside in the historic and vibrant pueblo of Ajijic on Lake Chapala, in an epic home designed and constructed mostly by Kelli’s Dad, with an epic view overlooking the lake. Jeffree has a dedicated music room and continues to teach students in Washougal via Zoom. At the time of this writing, he’s just getting plugged into the local music scene!
So now, when Jeffrey tells you that he was originally from one of the lesser moons of Saturn, you will know better.
Musical Performance
Jeffree White is a multi-instrumentalist who has performed with over 80 groups in his 30+ years of playing. His background is mostly in guitar, but since 2003 has played keyboards with many groups, and he also plays mandolin, bass, and melodica. Acts he has performed with play a wide range of styles, including: rock, blues, jazz, bluegrass, swing, reggae, Irish, prog rock, folk, world, and more! His versatility, imagination, and technical prowess have won him high praises. Jeffree captivates audiences with his strong, lyrical melodies and sophisticated rhythm playing, as well as his whimsical delivery and flamboyant presence.
Acts Jeffree has performed with as a member (in approximately reverse chronological order):
- Bluegrass & Beyond
- Black Sapphire
- Newport Nightingales
- Ne Plus Ultra Jass Orchestra
- Stump Stompers
- Bilgerats & Pyrettes
- Grateful Buds
- Rain or Shine
- Thermal Boogie
- Dirt Twirlers
- the Yellers
- the Hillwilliams
- Knit Pickers
- Ray Mann
- Train River
- Hot Club Time Machine
- Hot Club of Hawthorne
- Garcia Birthday Band
- Northbound Rain
- The Old Flames
- Ramblin’ Rose
- Cats Under the Stars
- Funk Shui
- Junk to Funk Orchestra
- Tree Frogs
- Jake Oken-Berg
- Klickitat
- Joe Strong & the Radbones
- Andrew Lynch Duo
- Stellakinesis
- Blue Zebra
- Jacob Merlin Band
- New Church Militia
- Jenny Sizzler
- Lowell J. Mitchell
- Ashbury Park
- Rich Man’s Burden
- Pieces
- The Night Owls
- Five
- KC Murphy
- Ali Ippolito
- Heavy Petting Zoo
- Diggabone
- Juicy Fruit
- Static-chair
- Me and My Brother
- Salad
- Cosmic Ozzies aka Low Pressure System
- Pepper
- Julie Larson
- Flying Colours
- The Lushpuppies
- The Time Being
- The Ombudsmen aka Flounder
- Groove Manifesto
- Perfectable You
- Cat in the Hopper
- Jahkuumba
- Eridor
- Shaka Belize Band
- Bamiki Bandula
- Cornerstone
- 4Word
- Glenno Falkenberg
- Wank
- Moss
- People’s Choice
- Sangfroid
- Rooster’s All-Stars
- Blues Club Project
- Yantra
- Pleaser Tweezer
- Toast
- unnamed Dead cover band
- S.P.L. (Sh*t Played Loud)
other artists with whom I have had the pleasure of sitting in:
Robert Randolph ~ Family Funktion ~ Folkrum ~ Big Island Shindig ~ Jive Talkin’ Robots ~ Porterhouse ~ Soular ~ Emily Wilder ~ Alexa Wiley ~ Anne Weiss ~ Freaks of Nature ~ Neo-Pagan Jazz Bastards