UTD's own jazz pianist, faculty member Kelly Durbin, brings
together Marchel Ivery, James Gilyard, Andrew Griffith, and jazz vocalist Sarah Renfro for a performance sure to delight both jazz connoisseurs and casual listeners alike.

Kelly Durbin (piano) is a faculty member at The University of Texas at Dallas, where he directs the Jazz Band program and teaches classes in music theory, MIDI, jazz history and jazz keyboard. He received his Master of Music degree from The University of North Texas College of Music. Durbin has enjoyed long tenures with the Marchel Ivery Quintet, the James Gilyard Ensemble, and the Wayne Delano Quartet. In addition to performing at numerous jazz concerts, festivals, and workshops, he has also lectured on jazz at the Dallas Museum of Art.

A partial list of other artists he’s performed with include: The Woody Herman Orchestra (under the direction by Frank Tiberi), David "Fathead" Newman, James Clay, Chuck Rainey, Billy Hart, Louis Hayes, Ed Soph, Lynn Seaton, Hank Crawford, Cornell Dupree, Sebastian Whittaker and Roseanne Vitro, to name a few. Durbin was a music consultant and pianist for the film "Daddy's Dying, Who's Got the Will?" and can be heard on recordings by James Gilyard, Wayne DeLano, Chuck Willis, and Freddie Jones.

Marchel Ivery (tenor sax) was born in Ennis, Texas on September 13, 1938. He played trumpet in his formative years; Dizzy Gillespie was his idol. When a junior in high school he was influenced by the great Charlie Parker and switched to saxophone. He plays alto and soprano but his preference is tenor sax.

Marchel has played with some top drawer jazz musicians: Bud Powell, Oscar Pettiford, Lucky Thompson, Art Blakey, “Philly Joe” Jones, Woody Shaw, Sonny Stitt, James Moody, Hank Crawford, David “Fathead” Newman, and Onzy Matthews. During a tour of Europe in the late 50’s he played with Kansas Fields. One of the most influential musicians, as far as Marchel is concerned, was the man he played with locally and nationally for so many years, Red Garland. Marchel considers Red his musical father. Marchel has recorded on the Seabreeze label (“Fred’s Rescue” with Fred Raulston) and on several records on the JazzMark label, most recently “Texas Tenors” with James Clay and the Paul Guerrero Trio.

Listening to Marchel one can detect a strong Parker influence with touches of Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. He plays with a massive vigor and confidence and the fat tone that has come to be known as the Texas tenor sound. He has a daring and driving conception. He can always be found in the best musical company on gigs on the Dallas jazz scene.
(Taken from: “The Texas Jazz Scene” by Joe Welnack)

James Gilyard (bass) jazz bassist, composer, producer, and lecturer, has over 39 years of performing experience in the clubs and other venues of Texas and Oklahoma. He graduated from Langston University in 1967 with a B.A. in education and took postgraduate studies in Human Relations at the University of Oklahoma. He retired from a 27-year career as a HR professional with a Fortune 500 company to pursue a music career. He is a solid, sensitive accompanist and has performed with many well known artists including Red Garland, Sonny Stitt, Barney Kessell, Dewey Redman, Roseanne Vitro, James Clay and Billy Hart, to name a few. He has recorded four albums for Generativity, Ltd. and was one of five nominees for “Jazz Artist of the Year” in the 1996 Dallas Observer Reader’s Poll. Gilyard was also selected “Sammons Jazz Artist of the Year” for 1998 by the Sammons Center for the Arts, and is now the Artistic Director for the Sammons Jazz series.

Andrew Griffith (drums)
Andrew Griffith is a graduate of The University of North Texas. Andrew is also a graduate of the Dallas Arts Magnet High School that has such a rich history of turning out talented young players whose musical maturity is well beyond their chronological age. Andrew's professional credits include work with Marchel Ivery, Joey DeFrancesco, Jack McDuff, James Gilyard and Roseanne Vitro.

Sarah Renfro (vocalist) has a raw, emotional and expressive style. Sarah is currently pursuing a degree in Music at the University of North Texas and performs regularly with Corner Pocket and her own original Rock-based band named 80 Sheets. With influences ranging from Sarah Vaughn to Janis Joplin, Sarahís voice has a very defining and unique sound that encompasses Jazz, Funk, and R&B all into one.