UW Department of Music Chair Ben Markley, on piano, is the fall semester Faculty
Senate Speaker Series award recipient. He will discuss the life of musician Cedar
Walton at 4:10 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7, in the Wyoming Union Family Room. Markley also
will perform several jazz pieces with UW music faculty members Seth Lewis, bass, and
Andy Wheelock, drums. (UW Photo)
University of Wyoming Associate Professor Ben Markley is the fall semester Faculty
Senate Speaker Series award recipient.
He will give a free public presentation discussing the career of Grammy Award-winning
pianist, bandleader and composer Cedar Walton (1934-2013) at 4:10 p.m. Tuesday, Nov.
7, in the Wyoming Union Family Room. The presentation also will be available on UW’s
WyoCast system by going here. A reception follows the presentation.
Markley, who is the current UW Department of Music chair, also will perform several
jazz pieces with music faculty members Seth Lewis, bass, and Andy Wheelock, drums.
In addition to his administrative duties, Markley also teaches applied jazz piano.
His 2017 album, “Clockwise: The Music of Cedar Walton,” received critical acclaim.
The album was selected as one of the best four-star-rated albums by DownBeat magazine.
Walton was a major figure in jazz and was associated with a variety of styles, from
bebop to funk, while also composing several pieces that are now considered standards.
The magazine also honored Markley for one of the best recordings for “Ari’s Fun-House,”
which was released in 2022. Markley is active as a composer and arranger and performs
regularly in the Denver metro area and along the Front Range.
Markley earned a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance (2005) from Fort Hays
State University; a Master of Arts in jazz studies (2007) from New York University;
and a Doctor of Musical Arts in jazz studies (2010) from the University of Colorado.
For more information about Markley’s program, call the Faculty Senate office at (307)
766-5348.
