Andy Middleton Jazz Quartet to Perform at Lebanon Valley College Feb. 7

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Andy Middleton leads the Andy Middleton Jazz Quartet, which will perform at Lebanon Valley College February 7.

ANNVILLE, PA (01/29/2013)(readMedia)-- The Andy Middleton Jazz Quartet will make an appearance at Lebanon Valley College on Thursday, February 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Lutz Hall of the Blair Music Center. The program, which is made possible through the Burgner Endowed Fund for Chamber Music, is free and open to the public.

Born in Harrisburg, Pa., Middleton attended the University of Miami to receive his master's degree in composition. After 20 years in the New York jazz scene, Middleton relocated to Austria. Considered to be one of the world's top-tier jazz saxophonists, Middleton's compositions are both harmonically modern and lyrical with a sense of jazz tradition.

A highly regarded musician, Middleton has presented workshops to high school and college students throughout the United States and Europe. Middleton will work with LVC students during a master class on Tuesday, February 5 and the quartet will join him to present another master class the day of the concert.

Accomplished musician David Liebman said, "Andy Middleton represents the best of a new generation of jazz musicians," and the New York Times called Middleton "...an accomplished composer as well as a smart post-bop tenor saxophonist."

Middleton has won awards for his performances, such as "Outstanding Jazz Soloist" from Down Beat Magazine in 1987 and "First Prize, Best Soloist and Best Arrangement" at the Europe Jazz Contest in 1991. He has been awarded several grants for his work including Chamber Music America's "New Works," Arts International, and New York Foundation for the Arts grants.

The Andy Middleton Jazz Quartet features Andy Middleton on saxophone, Mike Eckroth on piano, Joshua Davis on bass, and Owen Howard on drums.