Dayna Stephens was born in Brooklyn, New York, August 1st, 1978, and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He began playing the saxophone at the ripe age of 13. He attended the prestigious Berkeley High School and took part in their jazz ensemble. After High School, Dayna was accepted to Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA on a full scholarship. There, he studied with Hal Crook, Billy Pierce, George Garzone and Andy McGee, among others. While in Boston, Dayna also had the opportunity to perform with Chick Corea and the Boston Pops for a P.B.S. special.

After graduating from Berklee, Dayna was selected to study in the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, located at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles by Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Terence Blanchard. He studied there for 2 years and while there, Dayna studied and played with, among others: Dave Holland, Kenny Barron, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, John Scofield, Lewis Nash, Mark Turner, Christian McBride, Carl Allen and Terence Blanchard who was the artistic director of the program. In the spring of 2003 the Monk group made a recording featuring Terence Blanchard, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter. The recording Featured some of the best compositions and arrangements made by group throughout their 2 years spent together.

Since Graduating from the Monk Institute in 2003, Dayna has been performing and teaching actively. He plays regularly in San Francisco & New York City and has performed in recent times with Salvador & Carlos Santana, Kenny Barron, Roy Hargrove, OZOmatli, Patrice Rushen,Tom Harrell, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Jeff Parker, Freddie Hubbard, Steve Coleman, Oliver Lake, Eric Gravatt, Ndugu Chancler, Idris Muhammad, Bobby Short, and Josh Roseman. Dayna also plays upright bass and has performed with Stefon Harris, Marcus Belgrave, Sonny Fortune, Roy Hargrove and Natalie Douglas.