Raffi Garabedian was born and raised in Berkeley, California, and was a member of the award-winning Berkeley High School Jazz Ensemble. He went on to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music from 2006-2010, where he received a Bachelors of Fine Arts and studied with such musicians as Tony Malaby, Mark Turner, Chris Cheek, Bill McHenry and Andrew Cyrille.

Raffi has recorded and performed with a variety of musicians, including Jorge Rossy, Ben Street, Dayna Stephens, and blues legend Johnny Talbot. He can be found playing around the Bay Area with his own projects and as a sideman. As an educator, Raffi holds the saxophone faculty chair at Sonoma State University, instructs combos at the California Jazz Conservatory and the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and is the substitute band director for the Berkeley High School jazz program. He also has a large studio of private students in the East Bay.

Raffi believes that experiencing live music, specifically music that has improvisational elements, is one of the most unique ways to connect with a universal audience. No matter the age, race, or gender, live music, especially in an intimate setting, is a way for the performers and audience to experience emotion, vulnerability, and explore the unknown all together