Frost School of Music University of Miami
Miami, Florida
Gary Keller’s career as an educator and performer has encompassed virtually every genre and style of saxophone playing, from obscure 19th century operas to Lawrence “LAW” Worrell’s recent pop/hip-hop release Whirlpool Freedom. As the Professor of Jazz Saxophone and Jazz Studies at the University of Miami Frost School of Music (1982-2021) Keller helped propel hundreds of saxophonists to successful careers, and his former students continue to flourish across the globe in all corners of the music profession. Keller has presented master classes at prestigious institutions including the Royal Academy of Music, Sibelius Academy, Guildhall School, the Amsterdam Conservatory, West Australia Academy of the Performing Arts, and the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. His publication The Jazz Chord/Scale Handbook is in use at music schools in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Although retired as a full-time professor, he continues to educate via guest appearances, online presentations, and private lessons.
Keller has performed/toured/recorded with scores of major artists, including Frank Sinatra, Natalie Cole, Gloria Estefan, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, and Michael Feinstein, as well as the big bands of Woody Herman, Brian Lynch, Steve Guerra, the Jaco Pastorius Word of Mouth Revisited Band, and the South Florida Jazz Orchestra. Orchestral performances include the Florida Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Orchestra of the Americas, St. Petersburg (Russia) Philharmonic, Naples Philharmonic, South Florida Symphony, Frost Symphony, Orchestra Miami, and local orchestras for touring Broadway shows and stage acts. In the jazz realm he has performed at major festivals and clubs on five continents, and has appeared with artists including David Liebman, Kenny Wheeler, James Moody, Jon Faddis, Maria Schneider, Clare Fischer, Randy Brecker, Jaco Pastorius, Bob Mintzer, and Shelly Berg, to name but a few. He is the founder of the highly acclaimed Miami Saxophone Quartet, performing and producing five albums on the Fourtitude record label. Keller’s debut solo recording “Blues for an Old New Age” featuring Kenny Werner and Billy Hart received a near perfect rating by Penguin Guide to Jazz On CD, who termed it “a thinker’s delight” and “extremely well done.”
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Making the Saxophone Your Voice
Friday, January 9, 2026
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM CST
