Meet Corey Staggers | Saxophonist/Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Corey Staggers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Corey, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
The main habit that helped me succeed is PRACTICING!! However, i wouldn’t consider myself as “successful” just yet, but practicing more on my craft as a saxophonist/musician put me in a position to achieve all the goals that would give me the success i desired. I would never practice but thought i was good enough as a performer by just knowing the basics and i definitely wasn’t getting anywhere in my career with that logic. Over the last couple years i began to learn new techniques and strategies to improve my sound and improvisation. I also practiced how to move around, dance and interact with the audience as i perform so i can be prepared when show time comes. Another habit is getting up and being active. Laziness takes a huge toll on your career. Then there’s consistency; which helps if I’m up and active because I’m ready to work and there’s no succeeding without being consistent at what i do.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m a saxophonist/artist that travels the world to perform and do what i love. What sets me apart from others is probably my swag and choice of music for performing. There’s been numerous times when someone told me they’ve never heard any musicians play a certain song I’ve performed. I feel that makes me quite different because you don’t hear your usual set from a saxophonist but i give you that same feel. I’m proud of how i just continue to level up in my career, building more clientele and as an all around musician/artist and performer in general. I’ve came a long way and can see myself improving everyday by just pushing myself to stay ahead of the game and achieve everything I’m working hard for. I’m just excited for what’s to come in the near future as i continue to grow. But for now, I’m still happy with where i am, which is important to me. To get where i am today, I’ve took many risks. Leaving school, stop working, moving 3,000 miles away from home to focus on my mental and my career. It wasn’t easy at all but i kept faith and just never gave up. Some lessons i learned along the way are not everyone is your friend, know how the music business or just business in general works, know that not everyone will do the same for you that you will do for them and don’t expect anything in return after a favor. Nobody owes you a thing if it really came from the heart. And one of the main lessons I’ve learned is that if you’re not practicing what’s needed for your great performance, you will not get the results you expect! What I want the world to know about me is that Saxophone players still exist and I’m here to bring you the best vibes/experience for any occasion you hire me for.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my friends visited the area and i wanted to show them the best time ever, I’d take them to an “TheOutletLA” event in the Los Angeles area. It’s very upscale, Grown and sexy vibes, great drinks and just an all around great experience. They’d also get to see me perform as I do the live music for an hour out of the night as a saxophonist for their events. The brunches at “TheOutletLA” are a must! It is located in Beverly Hills at H&H steakhouse where my friends can eat all the steak/food they want at the buffet bar and the food is top tier! Also unlimited mimosas for two hours and i know they like to drink! Hahaha

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my parents! Without their encouragement, i for sure would not be doing what i am today. Growing up, i was so into sports, i just knew I’d be in the NBA or NFL. One of my favorite sports was baseball and i had dreams of even playing in the MLB. But somehow i ended up in a marching band in elementary school and that was history! I was assigned a saxophone and hated it. My parents thought it was just the best thing for me as a back up plan after sports. But i did not want to play. So i would take my horn home from school and play the most weird honky sounds as loud as i could to annoy them and make them tell the school to take the horn away from me. That ain’t work! Then on to middle school. I wanted to give up, but my mother and father were not having it! So i kept it up and won many awards as a saxophonist with my band and a “Miles Davis” jazz award for my work in my school’s jazz band. Once i got to high school, i wanted to still play three sports and do music. But my parents put me in a arts school that only allowed me to play one sport. At that point i just knew my dreams of playing any sport professionally was more slim than It already was. Then my father had me performing at grown folk clubs/bars and I’m only about 14/15 years old. I never wanted to do it but my parents made sure i was there. So I’m performing just as stiff as a rock. No rhythm, no pep in my step, no enthusiasm, just ready to go home and be a regular high school kid/athlete. I played basketball but was missing games to go to my arts school’s performances because i were apart of the band. On the bright side though, keeping me in music school led me to a scholarship at Western CT State University where i studied music. I then began to get my name out there as i would post saxophone cover videos online and go viral then get booked for shows. I was in college doing a solo tour at other colleges playing my saxophone traveling and staying in hotels for free with my friends. The experience was everything! Now I’m currently in Los Angeles and performing globally. This is all because of my parents and them encouraging me to never give up. From something i hated so much to being something that gave me the opportunity to live the life i wanted to live. I can’t thank them enough!

Instagram: https://instagram.com/cstaggz05?igshid=MjkzY2Y1YTY=

Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/Cstaggz05_

Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/@CoreyStaggersSaxophone

Image Credits
@kimberlyrgphotography @isaiahprovidence @mattathiasprovidence @peirc3