Jeff Sipe (Apt Q-258)

Jeff Sipe has been a professional musician since 1982, after studying at the Winchester Conservatory of Music and Berklee College of Music. He has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, and is renowned for his creativity, versatility, and precision behind the drums.

Jeff first caught international attention in the late 1980s in the groundbreaking group, Colonel Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit. Performing as “Apt. Q-258” (a name bestowed upon him by Hampton), Jeff explored previously unknown musical territory where jazz, fusion, bluegrass, rock, blues and the avant-garde combined to create the Aquarium Rescue Unit’s unique and influential sound.

His subsequent touring and recording credits constitute an incredible cross-section of American musical artists and styles. Sipe has made music with Bela Fleck, Phil Lesh, Clarence Carter, Jonas Hellborg & Shawn Lane, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi, Jeff Coffin, Jimmy Herring, Project Z, the Trey Anastasio Band, Leftover Salmon, Waylon Jennings, Taj Mahal, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, John Cowan, ZambilandOrchestra, Debashish Bhattacharia, Jazz is Dead, T Lavitz, Cedell Davis, Alex Machacek, Steve Vai, Matt Garrison, Oz Noy, the Jeff Sipe Trio, and many more. 

More recently, Jeff has been collaborating with Warren Haynes on his “Ashes and Dust” band project and was also selected to command the drum chair for Haynes’ ambitious “Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration” tours. Here combines the elastic improvisatory approach required by Garcia’s music with the precise and disciplined manner of an orchestral percussionist, linking Haynes’ small group with the conductor and symphony orchestra, including the National Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops and the Chicago City Lights Orchestra.

In 2018, Jeff achieved a career milestone when he performed on the “Meeting of the Spirits” tour comprised of the bands of legendary guitarist John McLaughlin and Jeff’s longtime musical partner, guitarist Jimmy Herring. The two groups toured across the United States performing a lengthy concert repertoire that concluded with a complete set of Mahavishnu Orchestra material performed by all the musicians under McLaughlin’s leadership. Presented as John McLaughlin’s final full-length US tour, a double-LP recording, “Live in San Francisco” was produced, representing some of the most definitive performances of the repertoire.

Living in Brevard, North Carolina, Jeff enjoys family time, the outdoors, teaching, and being with friends and the community.