Drummer and composer Jeff “Siege” Siegel is a veteran of the New York jazz scene who has worked with a virtual “who’s who” of artists. He studied drums with Freddie Waits, Barry Altschul, and Akira Tana, received his B.F.A. from City College in New York City, and earned his M.A. in Jazz from Queens College, where he studied composition with Jimmy Heath. He has been critically acclaimed in Modern Drummer magazine for his work on trumpeter Ryan Kisor’s Columbia Records debut Minor Mutiny, a date for which he was chosen by producer Jack DeJohnette. Of Siegel, Jimmy Heath has noted, “Jeff’s musicality is incredible. He is so tasty as a percussionist and he has become a fine composer/arranger.”

A member of the Sir Roland Hanna Trio from 1994 to 1999, Siegel’s diverse career has also led him to perform and/or record with legends such as Ron Carter, Kenny Burrell, Jack DeJohnette, Benny Golson, Sheila Jordan, Helen Merrill, Mose Allison, John Medeski, Arthur Rhames, Dave Douglas, Stefon Harris, Pat Metheny, John Abercrombie, Kurt Elling, Ravi Coltrane, Ryan Kisor, Lee Shaw, the Levin Brothers, Hal Galper, Dena DeRose, Michael Dease, and Joel Frahm, among many others, including the groundbreaking group Second Sight. He has also worked in the avant-garde world with Wadada Leo Smith and Baikida Carroll. He has performed over 30 European tours, including four as leader of the Jeff “Siege” Siegel Quartet and several others as co-leader, and the Jeff “Siege” Siegel Sextet performed a three-week tour of Africa in the summer of 2019, including clinics for the U.S. State Department and a featured appearance at the Standard Bank Jazz Festival in Makhanda, South Africa.

In addition to leading the Jeff “Siege” Siegel Quartet, Siegel is co-leader of the Stevens, Siegel & Ferguson Trio and The New York Trio Project, and has released recordings including Magical Spaces, Live in Europe, King of Xhosa, and London Live, as well as When You Were There, a tribute to the late pianist Lee Shaw with his longtime rhythm-section partner, bassist Rich Syracuse. An active educator, Siegel teaches jazz drumming and jazz ensembles at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, SUNY New Paltz, and Western Connecticut State University, and has performed clinics throughout Europe, the United States, China, South America, and South Africa. He has been the recipient of several grants from Meet the Composer as well as United States Artists International.