Gary Keller (born October 7, 1953) [1] is a jazz and classical saxophonist, recording artist, a lecturer at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, and a Conn-Selmer Artist. [2] He has played with Woody Herman, Frank Sinatra, and Jaco Pastorius, among many over a career spanning more than four decades. He appears on numerous recordings. He has performed in the pit of Broadway orchestras and for television shows. [3]
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Gary Keller holds a Bachelor of Music (B.M.) degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia He received his Master of Music (M.M.). from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. Keller has studied under Joe Allard, David Liebman, Pat LaBarbera, and Bob Mover among others. He has been a professor at Frost since 1982. [1]
Keller is the founder of the Miami Saxophone Quartet. [4] He is a member of the South Florida Jazz Orchestra. [5] He has performed at clubs and jazz festivals, and lectured about jazz and music performance at colleges and universities in the United States, Japan, and Europe. [3] numerous national and international recordings, television shows, Broadway pit orchestras.
Keller made his debut solo recording in 1999, Blues For An Old New Age. Saxophone Journal has called Keller an "admired and respected as a virtuoso performer and world class educator.” [6]
“Keller’s tunes are an exemplary bunch…A thinkers delight…extremely well done,” according to The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD. He appeared on the July/August 2002 cover of Saxophone Journal, a trade publication. [7]
He lectures and teaches at schools around the world, and has been an Artist in Residence at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz and has taught and performed at the Thomas Jefferson Institute, the University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil, and the IASJ Summer Workshop at the Souza Lima Conservatory in São Paulo, Brazil, among others.
Keller has appeared with numerous jazz artists including: [1] [3] [8]
Keller has appeared with numerous big bands and combos: [1] [3]
Keller has performed/recorded classical works with: [3]
Keller is the author of The Jazz Chord/Scale Handbook (Advance Music), an advanced-level music book on jazz chord progressions and scales. [9]
With Gerry Mulligan
The saxophone is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to produce a sound wave inside the instrument's body. The pitch is controlled by opening and closing holes in the body to change the effective length of the tube. The holes are closed by leather pads attached to keys operated by the player. Saxophones are made in various sizes and are almost always treated as transposing instruments. Saxophone players are called saxophonists.
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