Title/Position: Lecturer, Jazz Saxophone
Profile:What would you say are the outstanding highlights of your professional life?
My 26 year association with the Frost School of Music jazz program, and the successes of all my former students
Founding the Miami Saxophone Quartet
My association with International Association of Schools of Jazz
In short, all the opportunities I have had to perform and record with many of the world’s finest musicians. Touring with legends Woody Herman and Frank Sinatra are definitely highlights, as well as and performing and recording with many of the world’s great electric bassists in the Jaco Pastorius Big Band.
What advice would you give an aspiring young musician?
For those hesitant about embarking on a musical career: be brutally honest with yourself; then, if you choose to proceed, work hard and stick it out. For the gifted ones: being young and talented doesn’t pay the rent.
What’s on your iPod?
My iPod has at least one thousand songs on it—mostly jazz of all shapes and sizes, and some classical, ranging from Baroque through the mid 20th century.
What is the relevance of music in modern society?
Music remains the most universally communicative of all the arts. Human beings need music.
Gary Keller is “Admired and respected as a virtuoso performer and world class educator.”
—Saxophone Journal
“Keller’s tunes are an exemplary bunch…A thinkers delight…extremely well done.”
—Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD
Career Highlights:
A versatile saxophonist, Gary Keller has toured with the Woody Herman Thundering Herd and performed and/or recorded with numerous prominent jazz artists, including
Kenny Werner
Billy Hart
Maria Schneider
Jim McNeely
Ira Sullivan
Manny Album
David Baker
the late Jaco Pastorius
Word of Mouth Revisited Big Band
American Jazz Philharmonic
In the classical realm, Keller has performed and/or recorded with the
Florida Philharmonic
New World Symphony
Naples Philharmonic
St. Petersburg (Russia) Philharmonic
Festival Orchestra of Santo Domingo
Chamber Music Palm Beach
Frost Symphony Orchestra
Keller’s debut solo recording, Blues For An Old New Age, has gained widespread critical acclaim, including a near perfect review by the prestigious Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD.
He has appeared in clubs, jazz festivals, and presented guest lectures at universities throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. Keller is the founder of the Miami Saxophone Quartet, which has released three CDs on the Fourtitude label.
A long-time Miami freelance musician, Keller has played for numerous national and international recordings, television shows, Broadway pit orchestras. He has also backed scores of prominent entertainers, including
Frank Sinatra
Tony Bennett
Johnny Mathis
Natalie Cole
Lou Rawls
Mel Torme
In addition, Keller has authored the text The Jazz Chord/Scale Handbook (Advance Music) and has been featured in articles in
Woodwind Player
Saxophone Journal
IAJE Journal
Saxophone Symposium
Lecturer (Saxophone), Prof. Keller holds a B.M. degree from the State University of New York at Fredonia, and a M.M. from the University of Miami; his teachers include Joe Allard, David Liebman, Pat Labarbara, and Bob Mover.
Short Biography:
Gary Keller (jazz saxophone) is a lecturer in the Department of Studio Music and Jazz at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. A versatile saxophonist, Gary Keller has toured with the Woody Herman Thundering Herd and performed and/or recorded with such prominent jazz artists as Kenny Werner, Billy Hart, Maria Schneider, Jim McNeely, Ira Sullivan, and the late Jaco Pastorius. In the classical realm, Keller has performed and/or recorded with the Florida Philharmonic, New World Symphony, and others. His debut solo CD, Blues For An Old New Age, garnered widespread critical acclaim. He has appeared in clubs, jazz festivals, and presented guest lectures at universities throughout the United States, Europe, and Japan. Keller is the founder of the Miami Saxophone Quartet and authored the The Jazz Chord/Scale Handbook (Advance Music). A long-time Miami freelance musician, Keller has played on numerous recordings, television shows, in Broadway pit orchestras, and backed scores of prominent entertainers including Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Natalie Cole, Lou Rawls, and Mel Torme. Prof. Keller earned a B.M. from the State University of New York at Fredonia and a M.M. from the University of Miami.
