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| The members of the quartet (right, clockwise from
top): Ed Calle, Mike Brignola, Gary Lindsay, Gary Keller).
MSQ photo by Bob Lasky |
South Florida saxophonists Gary Keller,
Gary Lindsay, Ed Calle, and Mike Brignola have created a contemporary
sound unique among saxophone quartets. Led by the award winning writing
of Lindsay and Calle, the group explores the realms of Jazz, Pop,
Latin, R&B,
and chamber music, performing both originals and their own arrangements
of songs from a diverse array of musical legends, including John
Coltrane, Paul Simon, Pat Metheny, James Taylor, Thad Jones, and
Chucho Valdez. The quartet appears frequently with special guests
such as Arturo Sandoval, Jon Secada, the Bergonzi String Quartet,
Jim Gasior, Chuck Bergeron, John Yarling, Brian Lynch,and Svet Stoyanov. A testament to the flexibility and wide-ranging appeal of the saxophone, the quartet's performances appeal to audiences of all ages and persuasions.
Gary Keller, the founder of the Miami
Saxophone Quartet, has toured/recorded/performed with a wide diversity
of jazz artists and ensembles including The Jaco Pastorius Big
Band, Maria Schneider, Jim McNeely, David Liebman, Manny Album,
Kenny Werner, Billy Hart, Chico O’Farrill, Kenny
Wheeler, Clare Fischer, Woody Herman, Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Ira
Sullivan, Jaco Pastorius, and the University of Miami Concert Jazz
Band. He has also performed/recorded with the Florida Philharmonic,
New World Symphony, and the American Jazz Philharmonic. His debut
CD “Blues For An Old New Age” on Double-time records
has garnered critical praise, including a three and one half star
award from prestigious Penguin Guide to Recorded Jazz. Gary is currently
Professor of Saxophone at the University of Miami Frost School of
Music, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1982.
As an arranger, Gary
Lindsay’s pop music credits include Jose
Feliciano, Gloria Estefan, Jaci Velasquez, Julio Iglesias, Christina
Aguilera, Michael Bolton and many more. Jazz writing credits include
the Maynard Ferguson Band, Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Arturo Sandoval,
the Atlantean Driftwood Band, the University of Miami Concert Jazz
Band and Studio Orchestra, as well as commissions for the US Air
Force “Airmen of Note.” The Arturo Sandoval album “I
Remember Clifford” garnered him a Grammy nomination in jazz
arranging. Gary’s extensive writing for the Miami Saxophone
Quartet includes both original compositions and arrangements of pieces
by prominent artists.In addition to the Miami Saxophone Quartet, Lindsay has performed with
Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Henry Mancini, Stevie Wonder, Johnny
Mathis, Mike and Randy Brecker, Arturo Sandoval, Jaco Pastorius and
others. He has performed as a featured jazz soloist with the Florida
Philharmonic and the Naples Philharmonic. Gary is Professor of Music
and Director of the Studio/Jazz Writing program and DMA program in
Jazz Composition at the University of Miami Frost School of Music,
where he has been teaching for 25 years. He is a recipient of an
NEA grant in jazz composition.
Two time Latin Grammy nominee Ed Calle needs little introduction. One of the world’s top recording saxophonists, he has been featured on hundreds of recordings by today’s top artists in the Pop, Jazz, and Latin idioms. His credits include such diverse artists as Frank Sinatra, Ricky Martin, and Lenny Kravitz, and Natalie Cole, to name but a few. Calle’s solo albums include Nightgames (Epic), Double Talk (Sony), Sunset Harbor (Concord), Twilight (Concord), Ed Calle Plays Santana (Universal), In the Zone and I Wish It Would Snow on Christmas Day (Union). Ed writes requently
for the quartet, including his original pieces Rice and Beans, The
Iberia Suite, and Dancing On a Cloud. He is currentlysenior faculty of Miami Dade College.
Mike Brignola, one of the world's
great baritone saxophone and bass clarinet players, has been a
member of the Miami Saxophone Quartet since its inception in 1996.
During his 25-year performing career he has played in a wide variety
of musical settings as a jazz soloist, ensemble player, and recording
artist. Mike played with jazz legend Woody Herman for the last
seven years of Woody's career as a big band leader. Playing the
same "chair" in Woody's "four
brothers" sax section formerly occupied by the legendary Serge
Challof, Mike was an integral part of Woody's 1980's "Herds," appearing
on numerous concerts, festivals, recordings, and club gigs totaling
over one thousand performances worldwide. During the past decade
Mike has continued as the road manager and personnel director of
the Woody Herman Orchestra. A resident of Fort Lauderdale Florida,
Mike is active as a guest soloist, clinician and educator. |