Dayna Stephens

Tenor saxophonist and composer Dayna Stephens emerged in the early 2000s as a skilled post-bop stylist shaped by the approaches of Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, and Charlie Rouse. Since that time he has collaborated with an array of prominent jazz figures such as Phil Ranelin, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Kenny Barron. His own small-group releases include the 2013 album That Nepenthetic Place, the 2017 recording Gratitude made with Brad Mehldau, and the 2020 concert set Right Now! Live at the Village Vanguard.

Born in 1978, Stephens spent his formative years in the San Francisco Bay Area and began playing saxophone at age twelve. During his teenage period he worked with saxophonist Dann Zinn and pianist Kenny Barron while taking part in jazz initiatives at U.C. Berkeley, the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and Oakland’s Golden Gate Library. He also performed in the Berkeley High School big band and made some of his earliest professional appearances alongside local musicians including pianist Ed Kelly and trumpeter Khalil Shaheed. After graduation he enrolled at the Berklee School of Music on a full scholarship and completed his training at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. In subsequent years he performed and recorded with artists such as Phil Ranelin, Taylor Eigsti, Sachal Vasandani, Gerald Clayton, and Gretchen Parlato.

Stephens made his recording debut as a leader with the 2007 album The Timeless Now and followed it with 2012’s Today Is Tomorrow. Around the same period he disclosed his diagnosis of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSG), a condition affecting the kidneys that necessitated ongoing dialysis and ultimately a transplant. He nevertheless maintained an active schedule, issuing two projects in 2013—That Nepenthetic Place and I’ll Take My Chances—before delivering the 2014 album Peace, which featured guitarist Julian Lage, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Eric Harland.

In 2015 he joined saxophonist Walter Smith III for the sextet session Reminiscent, then reunited with Mehldau, Grenadier, and Harland for the 2017 release Gratitude. That same year he worked with drummer Matt Smith and trumpeter Curtis Taylor on I. Am. Calm. The live recording Right Now! Live at the Village Vanguard appeared in 2020 and documented his quartet with pianist Aaron Parks, bassist Ben Street, and drummer Gregory Hutchinson. Street and Harland also participated that year on the trio album Liberty.