EPK

BIO

Charley Gerard is a composer, saxophonist, author and publisher in New York City. Mr. Gerard studied composition and saxophone with Jimmy Giuffre, conducting with Harold Farbermanand David Leibowitz, and holds a graduate degree in ethnomusicology from Columbia University. He has taught composition at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, TX and presented papers at the New York Book Festival, Concordia Universityand at the Society of Ethnomusicologyin Washington, DC.

Mr. Gerard founded the Broken Reed Saxophone Quartetin 2002. He is a prolific composer and arranger, able to write a multi-part suite in a matter of a few weeks. Mr. Gerard draws inspiration from politics, film, as well as historical whimsy, enabling the quartet to transport their audience across time and space, from Mozart to New Orleans to Cuba, to the pages of poetry and popular culture. As its name implies, the group is as linked by its sense of humor as it is by its unique sound.

The current group is composed of Mr. Gerard on alto sax, Nathan Edwards on soprano sax, Malin Carta on tenor sax, and Matt Schmidt on baritone sax. Guest artists have included vocalists Tammy Scheffer and Gino Sitson, conga player Greg Riss, pianists Roberta Piket and Wade Ridenhour, and drummers Todd Isler and Jeff Hirschfield. The group has collaborated with poets Caroline Hagood, Mitch Levenberg, Leslie Prosterman and Carole Langille.

Mr. Gerard’s compositions have been performed by One World Symphony, Eight Strings and a Whistle(flute, viola and cello), Washington Square Winds, musical theatre group Golden Fleece, Ltd., The Irrelevants (a viola and saxophone duo) and Washington Musica Viva. Mr. Gerard created the Weary Blues Project using the poetry of Langston Hughes and featuring Washington, DC poet Holly Bass. In 2011 the Embassy of the Czech Republic and Washington Musica Viva comissioned Mr. Gerard to write Dvorak Jazz Dancesand to arrange the music of Jaroslav Jezekfor jazz sextet the following year. Washington Musica Viva commissioned Mr. Gerard to compose Bukowski Liked Mozart(based on the Mozart Sonata No.9 in F, K. 377) which was broadcast live by Takoma City TV. Another highlight of this period was a series of concerts called Jewish Cabaret Project with arrangements of Kurt Weill and other Weimar-era cabaret composers.

Mr. Gerard's awards include the New Jazz Works grant from Chamber Music America with the generous support of the Doris Duke Foundation, Outstanding Academic Title from Choice Magazine, finalist for the Association for Recorded Sound Collections(ARSC) in the category “Best Research in Recorded Folk and Ethnic Music,” and several ASCAP Standards awards.

Mr. Gerard is the author of Salsa: The Rhythm of Latin Music(White Cliffs Media), Jazz in Black and White: Race, Culture and Identity in the Jazz Community(Praeger), Music from Cuba: Mongo Santamaria, Chocolate Armenteros, and Other Stateside Cuban Musicians(Praeger), Jazz Riffs for Treble Instruments(Music Sales Company), Sonny Rollins(Music Sales Company), and Improvising Jazz Sax(Music Sales Company).

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Quotes

"Gerard’s music consists of crystal clarity in tonality and texture.
Gerard’s music, as a whole, is incredibly evocative and dramatic,
always taking a new twist or turn."
– Saxophonist Magazine (review of "Songs of Love and Passion")

"Part Ellingtonian sax section, part café bohemia."
– Jazz Weekly (review of Songs of Love and Passion)

"Devious, Witty, Swinging Tunefulness from
the Broken Reed Saxophone Quartet"
– Lucid Culture (review of "The Sound of a Broken Reed")

"Brilliant music by Gerard!"
– Dance Magazine

"The audience didn't just like it, they whooped, yelped,
bravoed each selection and each extraordinary musician."
– Examiner.com (review of Dvorak Jazz Dances)

”The Broken Reed Sax Quartet is one of the most unique,
innovative music ensembles I've heard in recent years.
Their arrangements are both original and exciting, encompassing all of
the relevant emotions of music, from the subtle to the explosive.”
– Dr. Sherrie Maricle, New York Pops Orchestra & Diva Jazz Orchestra

“Its mixture of dance and jazz, dissonance
and swing was ingratiating.”
- Washington Post

"The first half of the program closed with three Duke Ellington songs,
arranged by Charley Gerard for voice with clarinet, violin, and cello.
Very interesting choice of instruments, and the arrangements were superb."
- Jon's Show Log