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.
Ashley Oakley specializes in baroque and minimalist improvisation and has been an active performer and teacher for the last 20 years. In addition to solo and concerto performances throughout the US, Europe, Israel, and South Africa she has also collaborated with many local and international artists including Crossing 32nd Street and Philip Glass. Ashley holds a Doctorate in piano performance from Arizona State University and completed a post-doc research fellowship with the Tureck Bach Research Institute. In addition to being a dedicated teacher, Dr. Oakley recently published a set of solo piano pieces, 10 Gestures, that access the extreme ranges of the performer and instrument while retaining intermediate technical accessibility.
Composer Andrew Ardizzoia (b. 1979) is a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, where he began his studies in music at an early age. His music, described as “exuberant, rhythmic, and great fun,” as well as “smart, intriguing, and masterful,” has been performed four continents by a wide spectrum of soloists and ensembles.
Sonata Accademica - Andrew Ardizzoia
Recorded at home in Phoenix, AZ, October 2020
Keith Kelly, alto saxophone
Ashley Oakley, piano
Mastered by Brett Reed (Hard Oil Studios).
Property of Shelter Recording Project, American Composers Alliance
