Jeff started playing trumpet and taking private lessons when he was about 9 years old. He played 1st chair in Junior High Band and High School. He competed in contests and won first place 5 years in a row in South Dakota. He minored in music University of South Dakota.

While in college he formed a Tijuana Brass band. Before he graduated he was playing keyboard and trumpet in a funk horn band. Jeff moved to Phoenix and joined an eight piece funk band called Phoenix Express. The band toured for three years playing in clubs throughout the United States, including Las Vegas. The band worked six nights a week, over fifty weeks each year. He also played in Canada and Bermuda. In addition to trumpet, he played flugelhorn, valve trombone, Hammond B3 Organ, Honer clavinet, a synthesizer, and a Fender Rhodes Piano.

Later he moved to L.A. and became a talent agent for Stardrive Productions. He was responsible for booking such acts as Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra Jr., Al Green, and Wolfman Jack, among others. He left the music business for almost 30 years, but he has been back to playing for the last twelve years.