Don Menza Quartet at Soka Performing Arts Center

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Soka Performing Arts Center presents

Don Menza Quartet

Friday, January 22, 2016 at 8 p.m.

Don Menza is a powerful tenor saxophonist who, although able to effectively imitate most of the top stylists (from Coleman Hawkins to John Coltrane), has a distinctive sound of his own. After getting out of the Army, he was with Maynard Ferguson's Orchestra (1960-1962) as both a soloist and an arranger. A short stint with Stan Kenton and a year leading a quintet in Buffalo preceded a period living in Germany. His compositions, such as "Groovin' Hard" and "Time Check" (both favorites of Doc Severinsen's NBC Orchestra and Buddy Rich's Big Band) have become standard repertoire for jazz ensembles worldwide.