Cameron DeVane

Saxophone

Cam DeVane is in his Senior year at Fernandina Beach High School. In the fall he will attend University of North Florida auditioning for Jazz Performance. UNF is known for their exceptional jazz program, making that an easy choice for Cam.

In the course of his music studies, Cam has participated in the District 17 Honor Band twice as well as Nassau County Honor Band each year. He consistently scores superior in his assessments and is featured in the superior rated Fernandina Beach High School Jazz Band, Sailors of Swing. He was awarded the Johnnie Robinson Jazz Musician of the Year for two years. He has studied with some incredible musicians including the great Johnnie Robinson, Frank Basile and John Reid.

He has performed with Crescendo Amelia and the Honey Badgers as a guest musician. He also was a member of The Rose Quartet and has performed in both the Jazz Super Group and Jazz Super Trio for gigs throughout the community. Cam is also a proven leader, serving as the 2021 Fernandina Beach High School Drum Major and in other leadership roles throughout most of his four years. He is an honor roll student at FBHS as well.

DeVane can play all types of saxophones including tenor, soprano, and baritone, but he is also now studying trumpet, trombone and piano to add to his arsenal of instruments. In the Fall he’ll join the University of North Florida’s Jazz Studies program to help further his goal to become a pro. DeVane sights saxophonist Benny Golson as a major influence plus lessons learned from FBHS band director Johnny Robinson. A fan of the bebop era of jazz, he is especially fond of John Coltraine’s music, and he enjoys big band records, particularly those by Count Basie and Glenn Miller. Interestingly, he has a lofty plan for the future: “After graduation, I will move to Japan where I hope to establish a jazz club there. The country is well known for its appreciation of jazz, and I’d like to be to able start a club, invite major league acts and hopefully play with them when possible.” Locally DeVane is a member of The Sailors Of Swing, a combo with two of his high school friends, Michael Awad and Collin Wrye.