Kieran Hanlon

Associate Professor Kieran Hanlon will be joined by three special guests in a faculty recital on Wednesday, April 23 at the State University of New York at Fredonia.

The recital, at the Juliet J. Rosch Recital Hall at 8 p.m., is free and open to the public.

“We are really looking forward to sharing music from different time periods and different composers,” said Hanlon. “Listeners are likely to experience some music that will feel new, especially in the presentation through a saxophone, bass, guitar and drums quartet.”

Performing with Hanlon, double bass, and bringing their impressive musical credentials to the Rosch stage will be the following:

– Saxophonist Gary Keller, a retired professor of Jazz Saxophone at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and a SUNY Fredonia alumnus (Mus.B. in Music Education, 1975). The Buffalo, NY, native’s playing embodies the “upstate tenor” tradition in the mold of Don Menza, Bobby Militello and Larry Covelli, as well as “East Coast” jazz mainstream. He’s played backup for Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Johnny Mathis and cut his teeth as a jazz saxophonist with the Woody Herman Orchestra in the 1980s.

– Guitarist Bob Sneider, who is associate professor of Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media since 1997 at Eastman School of Music. He has toured with two-time GRAMMY winner Chuck Mangione and performed at major festivals, concert halls and jazz clubs throughout South America, Central America, North America and Europe.

– Drummer Eric Metzgar, an in-demand musician, a passionate educator and versatile collaborator who offers his musicianship to various jazz/pop artists and symphony orchestras worldwide. He’s worked with first-rate musicians such as Jeff Tyzik, Sutton Foster and Joe Locke. He has a B.M. in Drum Set Performance and an M.M. in Music Teaching and Learning from Eastman School of Music.

“Most of the music will likely feel fresh and new to our audience,” said Hanlon, who has performed with all three musicians, but not in this combination.

“Bob and I have done many jazz and orchestra pops gigs, Eric and I have done many Jazz gigs and some recordings, and I joined Gary for an educational event in my first year at Fredonia, way back in 2014,” Hanlon said.