“ I always come back to soul. We must live with soulful connection to ourselves and our history.”

— Tiffany Austin

Far more than a charismatic vocalist, Tiffany Austin is a UC Berkeley Juris Doctor and a scene-defining musician with a 360-degree vision of an artist’s responsibilities. As a composer, arranger and interpreter with an expansive view of the jazz canon, she’s employed her legal skillset to open up opportunities for other artists via her work as a curator, educator, bandleader, philanthropist, and co-founder of the West Oakland performance space Wyldflowr Arts.

Sought out by jazz masters, Austin has performed with luminaries such as Pharoah Sanders, Roy Ayers, John Handy, Cyrus Chestnut, Taj Mahal and Doug Carn over the past decade. At home, she’s forged deep creative ties with many of the most consequential musicians on the Bay Area scene, including saxophonist Howard Wiley, pianist Tammy Hall, and drummer Leon Joyce Jr.

As a composer, Austin has written commissions for the Oakland Symphony, San Jose Jazz, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, and Healdsburg Jazz, where she is currently Musical Director of the Healdsburg Freedom Jazz Choir. Since taking on the role of artistic director of Albany, CA’s Juneteenth Celebration in 2021 Austin has turned the event into a forum for liberationist music.