- Source: Gary Keller (saxophonist)
Gary Keller (born October 7, 1953) 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. 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.
Biography
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.
Career
Keller is the founder of the Miami Saxophone Quartet. He is a member of the South Florida Jazz Orchestra. 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. 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.”
“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.
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 Brasília, Brasília, Brazil, and the IASJ Summer Workshop at the Souza Lima Conservatory in São Paulo, Brazil, among others.
= Performed with
=Keller has appeared with numerous jazz artists including:
Manny Album
David Baker
Tony Bennett
Natalie Cole
Vic Damone
Michael Feinstein
Clare Fischer
Billy Hart
Woody Herman
Dave Liebman
Johnny Mathis
Chico O'Farrill
Jaco Pastorius
Jim McNeely
Adam Nussbaum
Lou Rawls
Troy Roberts
Lupa Santiago
Maria Schneider
Frank Sinatra
Dr. Lonnie Smith
Ira Sullivan
Mel Torme
Rosanna Vitro
Kenny Werner
Kenny Wheeler
= Bands and combos
=Keller has appeared with numerous big bands and combos:
American Jazz Philharmonic
Alan Baylock Big Band
Drive By Big Band
Woody Herman Thundering Herd
The Jaco Pastorius Big Band
Miami Saxophone Quartet
Rosanna Vitro Quartet
Word of Mouth Revisited Big Band
Stephen Guerra Big Band
University of Miami Concert Jazz Band
= Classical performances
=Keller has performed/recorded classical works with:
Chamber Music Palm Beach
Festival Orchestra of Santo Domingo
Florida Philharmonic
Frost Symphony Orchestra
New World Symphony
Naples Philharmonic
St. Petersburg (Russia) Philharmonic
= Clubs and venues
=Blue Note Jazz Club, Tokyo, Japan
Hard Rock Live, Hollywood, Florida
= Jazz festivals
=Montreux Jazz Festival Japan, 2011
Rochester Jazz Festival, 2010 - with the Miami Saxophone Quartet
Scranton Jazz Festival, 2012
= As author
=Keller is the author of The Jazz Chord/Scale Handbook (Advance Music), an advanced-level music book on jazz chord progressions and scales.
Discography
Fourtified - Miami Saxophone Quartet (2008)
Midnight Rumba - Miami Saxophone Quartet with special guests Arturo Sandoval and Jon Secada (2005)
Miami Saxophone Quartet Live - Miami Saxophone Quartet (2003)
Take Four Giant Steps - Miami Saxophone Quartet (2002)
Blues For An Old New Age (1999) - Double-Time Records
With Gerry Mulligan
Walk on the Water (DRG, 1980)