Ben Markley Quintet Featuring Terell Stafford to Perform at UW May 8

Grammy winners, jazz legends and hometown favorites. The Ben Markley Quintet will bring an elite lineup to the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts for a free, public performance Friday, May 8.

Presented by the University of Wyoming Jazz Studies program, the concert will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts recital hall.

Leading the ensemble is jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and educator Ben Markley, who serves as chair of UW’s Department of Music. An active performer and arranger, Markley has performed with legends such as Ron McClure and George Garzone. His recent commissions include the Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia and Wyoming Jazz Educators. In 2023, he published “Cedar: The Life and Music of Cedar Walton,” the definitive biography of the jazz legend.

The evening’s featured guest, trumpet player Terell Stafford, has been hailed by McCoy Tyner as “one of the great players of our time.” Based in New York, Stafford is celebrated for his adventurous lyricism and expressive talent, bridging the gap between jazz tradition and modern innovation. His storied career includes performances with Benny Golson, Kenny Barron and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Alumni Band. A Grammy Award winner with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Stafford has appeared on more than 130 albums, including Diana Krall’s “From This Moment On” and his NAACP Image Award-nominated tribute to Lee Morgan, “BrotherLee Love.” Stafford serves as director of jazz studies at Temple University.

Rounding out the quintet are three distinguished musicians and educators. Saxophonist Peter Sommer, a professor at Colorado State University and D’Addario Woodwinds Artist, is a celebrated soloist with six albums as a leader. UW faculty member and bassist Seth Lewis has toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, performed on Broadway and is a staple of the Front Range jazz scene. Grammy Award-winning drummer Kyle Swan has performed at major international festivals from Montreal to Italy as well as alongside jazz greats such as Kurt Elling, Paquito D’Rivera and Brian Lynch.