In high school he played saxophone in the Warsaw High School marching and concert bands, and played string bass for the jazz band, swing choir and pit orchestra for Fiddler on the Roof. He organized the USO Big Band, a twelve piece mini-big band with charts borrowed from his uncle, and The New Dixieland Band, an eight piece group who performed the music of Zep Meissner.

In addition to his instrumental pursuits, Jeff was a member of the Warsaw High School Choir, the Sounds of Hope, a choral group that performed for church congregations in Europe, and the Indiana Musicmakers, a swing choir that performed in Germany and France. He was in the chorus of The Sound of Music, and played Ike Skidmore in Oklahoma!. Jeff earned 24 Indiana High School Competition awards for woodwind, string and vocal performances.

Jeff took five years off from performance while earning his dual degrees in philosophy and mathematics at Purdue University, and his post baccalaureate in accounting from Indiana University. After graduation, he joined the Fort Wayne Indiana Second Time Arounders Marching Band, and has been a member ever since, despite moving to Wisconsin, and subsequently Chattanooga. In 1997, he joined the Original Second Time Arounders in St Petersburg, FL. With that group, he played in the Superbowl parade in Tampa in 2000, and traveled in 2001 to perform as part of the St. Patrick's Day parade in Dublin, Ireland. In 2000, he marched in the Chattanooga Christmas parade as part of the Times-Free Press Second Time Band.

Jeff joined Sweet Georgia Sound in 2000, after fellow lap swimmer Kathy Marcinek let him know of an opening in the group. He has played with the East Ridge American Legion Legionnaires and the Doc Shaffer Big Band. In addition to playing with Sweet Georgia Sound, Jeff helps coordinate the performance of the band with event planners to assure an enjoyable dance atmosphere. Jeff is a dance instructor at the Dance Floor in East Ridge.  Since 2003 he has taught the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga continuing education ballroom classes.  He and his partner, Amy Blackburn, have performed with the band. Jeff has also performed with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera in Riggolleto, and in The Music Man as part of the barbershop quartet.

Jeff reports two primary inspirations. The first, Xavier Cugat, was more of a philosophical influence. Cugat emphasized varying the repertoire of a band to satisfy the evolving tastes of an audience, and that lead Jeff to remain flexible and open to new music, while paying attention to what the audience wants. The second is his uncle, Don Pearson, who Jeff describes as the consummate jazz man. Jeff relates many Sunday afternoons spent at his uncle's home, listening to the latest big band album his uncle had acquired, and to stories of recent gigs. His uncle's joy in big band music is what Jeff seeks in every performance. Jeff realized a life long aspiration on New Years Eve 2006 by playing with the Conglomernotes, who he describes as the 'best big band in Indiana for the last 40 years'.