About Us
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. 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 33 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 frequently for the quartet, including his original pieces Rice and Beans, The Iberia Suite, and Dancing On a Cloud. He is currently senior 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 30-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 Chalof, 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.