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Biography
The son of a Southern Baptist preacher, Jeffery Alani Stanfill was born in Brownsville, Tennessee and raised in Memphis. His mother, a now retired elementary school teacher, encouraged his love of music and art, while his father guided him in spiritual development and a great appreciation for gospel music. Jeffrey sang in church choirs from an early age. He sang his first public solo on the radio at age eight, with his rendition of “Climb Every Mountain,” from the “Sound of Music.”
Music was the focus of Jeffrey’s early life until he became involved with the riding and training of show jumping horses. Jeffrey toured the National Horse Show circuit until he was 18, at which point he realized that his talents were better served in music.
Jeffrey pursued a degree in vocal performance from Florida State University, and later attended New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. Although his time at F.S.U. and N.E.C. was focused on Classical music training, Jeffrey also explored other avenues of music including Musical Theater, Pop, and R&B.
Jeffrey became a frequent soloist in the Boston area. He also performed in various productions such as the “Gondoliers at the Boston Public Theater” and the “Pirates of Penzance.”
Later, Jeffrey performed in summer stock productions at the Buck’s County Playhouse, in New Hope, PA and eventually landed several contracts with Jean Ann Ryan Productions aboard Norwegian Cruise Lines ships. During the long contracts at sea, he began to expand his musical repertory by exploring new genres of music, Salsa and Latin Pop. Along with his rigorous schedule with Jean Ann Ryan Productions, which included eight shows a week, Jeffrey also began performing with a Salsa band called Mangoo. The members of the band took the time to teach him the intricacies of salsa music and nurture his craft. This solidified his love of Latin music.
In 1999, Jeffrey began his long association with Maestro David Jones in New York. Mr. Jones’ unique ability to help the singer understand the fundamentals of singing, as well as his knowledge of a vast array of exercises which create balance, beauty, and breadth of tone helped Jeffrey develop a solid vocal foundation. Maestro Jones’ technique also helped Jeffrey achieve versatility of sound. He can easily shift from a Classical sound to a Pop sound, or even a Rock or R&B sound with very little effort.
With the help of Maestro Jones’ technique, Jeffrey was able to endure a rigorous twelve-show-a-week contract with Casino Magic Hotel in Biloxi, Miss., as one of the lead singes for the show, “Hot Salsa.”
Jeffrey began teaching soon after his first meeting with David. He found that the vocal ability of his students progressed rapidly, through the use of Maestro Jones’ technique. Many of his current and former students now perform in national Broadway tours, in production shows located in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, as well as on cruise ships.
After performing in “Hot Salsa,” Jeffrey went back to New York to continue his teaching and training with Mr. Jones.
Most recently, Mr. Stanfill was the lead male vocalist in the Tropicana Casinos’ production, “Havana after Dark.” This show gave him the opportunity to continue his training in Latin music.