About Jeffji
Jeff Saulich a.k.a. Jeffji is a musician, kirtan leader, and music minister. For more than 15 years, he performed frequently at Unity Eastside Church in Tallahassee, Florida, where he was a founding member of the church's band, "The 13th Power." For two years, Jeffji performed regularly at the Spiritual Enrichment Center in Dothan, Alabama, which is a combined Unity Church and Center for Spiritual Living (Science of Mind) congregation. He continues to serve both of these spiritual communities occasionally.
Jeffji has developed an extensive "posi" music repertoire that is appropriate for any New Thought church or positive-minded spiritual group. He was the featured musical performer for the 2023 annual convention of the Mid-South Federation of the Theosophical Society in America (TSA) in Hendersonville, NC. He performed three times during Namasté Café open-mic segments of the 14th Annual Posi Music Festival in Tampa, FL, where he accompanied the late Darryl Steele on his awesome "Mind Thing" song that brought the house down! He also has performed in band settings in and around Tallahassee such as Darryl Steele & Some Mo' Friends (bass and rhythm guitar) and Rags & Tinder (bass and backing vocals).
Jeffji has been actively involved in kirtan since the early 2000s. He frequently hosts kirtans in the Tallahassee area and occasionally elsewhere. See the Calendar page for details. He has appeared with well known kirtan artists such as The Hanumen, Krishna & Gershone, Arundhati Devi, and World Mantra, and studied briefly with Jai Uttal, and has shared the same bill with Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band, Wah!, and Rahasya.
As a kirtan leader since 2007, Jeffji has hosted kirtans at Unity Eastside Church, Abundance Wellness Center, and Unity of Tallahassee. He also joined Hal Month and Joanna Valentine for kirtans at Lakulish Yoga Tallahassee, Gretchen Hein for events at Namaste Yoga, and led kirtan at ISKCON of Tallahassee. On the road in Florida, Jeffji has hosted kirtan events at the Center for Spiritual Living in Cape Coral, Unity of Pensacola, and One Heart Earth Center in Monticello, performed at the 2014 Mahabhuta Yoga Festival in Pensacola, and participated in kirtans in Sarasota, Fort Walton Beach, and Lehigh Acres.
Previously, as a member of the chanting group Om Sweet Om, he participated in regular kirtans in Tallahassee and in special events at Amrit Yoga Institute in Salt Springs, FL, the Florida School of Massage in Gainesville, FL, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tallahassee.
Jeffji believes that kirtan is a powerful spiritual practice that can benefit everyone. Jeffji includes Sanskrit chants in his events to reflect the origins and potency of kirtan. However, he also includes English chants because many people are more comfortable singing in a language they understand. Due to his longtime involvement with Kriya Yoga, many chants by Paramahansa Yogananda and his tradition are in Jeffji's kirtan bag.
"I'm not asking that you convert to Hinduism or anything else," says Jeffji. "In fact, you could probably sing 'Mary Had A Little Lamb' for two hours and get some benefit from it. But these mantras have been chanted for centuries and have a power and holiness to them. Once you experience it, it's undeniable."
Jeffji prefers to keep the chants simple, usually in a call-and-response format, so that it is easy for newcomers to join in. A few minutes of silent meditation follow each chant to deepen the experience.
Jeffji plays a Taylor acoustic guitar; Mitchell 12-string guitar; Gold Tone 12-string guitar-mandolin; Alvarez classical guitar; Fender, Epiphone, Ibanez, and Travelcaster electric guitars; Ibanez electric basses; Meinl tambourine; and a Dean six-string banjo if provoked!
Photo by Angel Eason