By Javier Antonio Quiñones Ortiz

It is said that there are no atheists in war. Have you ever wonder what the percentage of atheists in the Jazz trenches is? Leaving such guesswork aside, I doubt there were many on the evening of Thursday, February 7, 2002 at the Coral Gables Congregational Church as the art of the Miami Saxophone Quartet (MSQ) was divine.

The MSQ took its first "Giant Steps" by forming in 1996, gratifying audiences throughout South Florida ever since. Coltrane, accordingly, is credited as the originary event in its formation. On this occasion, they performed a benefit for a local Jazz radio station under the auspices of a Congregational church. Jazz suits well the history and tenets of Congregationalism. As heirs of British 16th century non-conformism, North American Congregationalists are expected legatees of a brand of independent thinking that has been diluted by its sociological adaptations throughout the centuries and the influence of mainstream Protestantism. When it comes to Jazz, they both are akin in historical development, character and practice. Jazz, in other words, as well as Congregationalism, is historically and existentially just as non-conformist as it is mainstream. The MSQ, of course, navigates the same waters in similar fashion.

The MSQ is a combo of premiere musicians with a dash of academia coupled, one way or the other, to the prestigious University of Miami Music Department. Thankfully, the dash does not lend itself to the self-serving trash so common in North American universities. Mike Brignola is the baritone of the group, "the lost child" if you may. He is a link in the Woody Herman saxophone legacy that includes players such as Harry Carney, Serge Challof and Gerry Mulligan, as well as a sidemen within several musical genres and contexts. Mike has a well-rounded, amicable tone with enough edge to its smarts to please a wide range of tastes. Ed Calle is in charge of the tenor and the better known of the bunch. A versatile player, el chamo -a Venezuelan term of endearment- features enough depth of expression, pitch, chordal ideas and fun to fit in any musical setting, hence his varied experiences as a solo artist and sidemen with some leading musical figures such as Sinatra, Gloria Estefan and Arturo Sandoval. One of the Gary's of the group is Keller and he plays both soprano and tenor, although he anchors the former. This University of Miami saxophone professor is an author, leader of the MSQ and active performer whose association with names such as Jaco Pastorius, Frank Sinatra, Woody Herman, Dr. Lonnie Smith and Chico O'Farrill, solidifies chops that have much to say in an economical style from which many could learn a thing or two, perhaps even more. The other Gary is Lindsay and he writes like a motherfucker, as well as playing a kick ass alto. Teaching Studio/Jazz Writing at the University of Miami certainly keeps his neural network active and it showed during this concert. Name-dropping does get tiresome, but is there a better way to contextualize and concentrate someone's career? Bennett, Sinatra, Turrentine, Brecker, Tormé, Pastorius and a National Endowment for the Arts Award in Jazz Composition, should all tell something about this Gary in the MSQ.

The two sets of the concert wisely offered two sides of the MSQ and Jazz performing in general. On the first part of the performance, which opened with "America the Beautiful," the quartet was making Jazz music with no solos. Solid arrangements and compositions were interpreted in a tight way without betraying the feeling of freedom so imperative in Jazz. These fellows can hang and blow with anyone, although they can also follow a sheet of paper with understanding and plenty of feel. Bob Mintzer's "Quartet #1 in Three Movements" followed, as well as a Gershwin piece for piano and sax quartet with distinctive ragtime touches as prelude to a composition by a New York sax player who's name escaped me entitled "Thank You," which was intended as a homage to Quentin Jackson. Things closed with Lindsay's "Schoolyard Suite" inspired by children playing in a playground. Gary has a 10 year old who obviously served as muse. The suite has three delightful movements that the audience rewarded, as well as the entire concert, with gusto. The first movement was "Tag," the second "Recess Romance With Argument," and the final one "Hide and Seek" where the baritone gets "lost," hence my previous reference to that dramatic effect.

After a brief wine tasting break, "Sunlight," by Metheny, with a Lindsay arrangement, started things again. Now the guys and the audience were ready for soloing and a looser means of communication. Both ended up satisfied. Ed Calle introduced one of the favorite Gillespie's protégés, Mr. Arturo Sandoval, who heaped uncommon high praises upon the quartet. Arturo is not given to ass kissing, so it was nice to see such a well-deserved effort on his part. He placed his trumpet playing flawlessly within the MSQ's ethos of superb team support and inspired soloing while interpreting a Lindsay arrangement of "A Night in Tunisia" written in one night. Then Sandoval opened "Blue Monk" by himself in the piano, while Gary Keller returned to the soprano sax, as he had been, up to this point in the second half of the concert, playing tenor. Arturo's abilities as a piano player rival or supersede his capacity as a trumpeter, 'nuff said in that regard. After grabbing his trumpet and rejoining his friends during the rest of their encounter with Thelonious, he left the stage. The night's delight continued with the group's rendition of "Giant Steps," which is their birthplace and ended with a composition by Lindsay, "Intoxicated Rag," which bid everyone farewell under the Miami clear skies.

Photo from left to right: Ed Calle, Tenor Sax; Garry Keller, Soprano and Tenor Sax; Gary Lindsay, Alto Sax; Mike Brignola, Baritone Sax.