Keith Kelly is a Phoenix-based woodwind specialist and composer who works primarily in improvisation-based music. Much of his original works live somewhere between the spheres of jazz, ambient, and indie-rock. As a leader, he directs the Composers/Improvisers Big Band, the jazz-rock-improvisation unit Ask Not, and is regularly seen at The Lost Leaf, Phoenix’s hub of creative music. Keith performs often with Crossing 32nd St, and throughout the Western/Southwestern United States at a variety of new music concerts - including the Outsounds Music Festival (CA), In the Flow (CA), Oh My Ears (AZ), and at The Roost (NM).
His close cadre of musical companions include: vibraphonists/percussionists Brett Reed and Nathan Hubbard; woodwind players Eric Rasmussen, Adam Roberts, and Josh Bennett; percussionist Ryan Anthony; bassist Ben Hedquist; synth-maniac Tony Obr; guitarist Mike Sawitzke; and pianist Ashley Oakley. Equally at home in the realm of popular music, he has recorded with EELS, Dispatch, Califone, Michael Krassner, and Max Knouse. His recorded music is available through both Edgetone Records and his own label EX(P)HX.
Dr. Kelly holds degrees from the Conservatory of Music at University of the Pacific and Arizona State University. Since 2012, he has served as the Coordinator of Music Humanities and Performance at Paradise Valley Community College.
Here is what Keith Kelly says about the Eastman 52nd Street Tenor Saxophone"
"I’ve played a vintage horn, ever since I picked up the tenor saxophone. I had found that modern horns lacked the power, the range of tone color, and the overall ‘umph’ that I loved so much about playing vintage horns. The Eastman 52nd St Tenor Saxophone was a revelation to me – a modern horn, with all the precision key-work and attention to detail, coupled with the overall sound and feel of a vintage saxophone. When I first played my Eastman with the musicians who know me and my music best, they raved about how I 'sounded more like myself' and how much 'clearer and focused' my sound became. I feel so lucky to be able to play this horn every day and to share this hybrid of 'vintage and modern' with my students and other professionals."
What They Play
ETS652
The 52nd Street saxophone is a professional instrument and comes unlacquered for a truly vintage appearance. It is an exceptionally responsive horn in all registers and produces a big, fat sound with precise intonation. A larger bell and rolled-style tone holes contribute to the sound qualities of this instrument that many compare to some of the great vintage horns of the past.
- 52nd St. Bb Tenor Saxophone
- High F# key, aged unlacquered brass finish
- Large bell, rolled-style tone holes, special 52nd St. engraving
- "M" neck
- Deluxe case w/storage pockets and backpack straps