Dave Cooper and QUAD

QUAD – DC trumpet, Tony Barba sax, John Christensen bass, Devin Drobka drums Quad: having or composed of four items or elements. Quad: a style of Belgian beer that is 10% or more alcohol content. In this context Quad is: Dave Cooper trumpet, Tony Barba saxophone, John Christensen bass, and Devin Drobka drums. This ensemble seeks to work in subtleties and intricacies and expand each member’s typical musical roles. Compositional influences come from Oliver Messiaen, Mark Turner, Ralph Alessi, Drew Gress and Alex Sipiagin. DAVE COOPER – TRUMPET David Cooper is widely recognized as one of the most versatile trumpets players in the Midwest. His performing affiliations include the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the Isthmus Brass, The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra. Ensemble affiliations have included the Wisconsin Brass Quintet, the Milwaukee, Fox Valley, Canton and La Crosse Symphony Orchestras, The Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, The Dallas Brass, Walt Disney World, and the Aspen Jazz Ensemble. As an educator, Dr. Cooper is an associate professor of trumpet and jazz studies at the University of Wisconsin – Platteville. As a clinician, he has lectured and performed at the International Wind and Percussion Festival in Beijing, International Trumpet Guild Conference, New York Brass Conference, and is a very active soloist/clinician with regional schools, jazz festivals and community ensembles. He is the host and author of the educational blog www.AllThingsTrumpet.com. TONY BARBA – SAXOPHONE After residing in New York City and Chicago for the past fifteen years, saxophonist/composer Tony Barba relocated to Madison, WI in the summer of 2013 where he has quickly been making a significant impact on the local music scene. Tony’s career has spanned many genres and bands, whether it be leading his own groups or freelancing as a much in demand sideman. Tony is also a current member of the Youngblood Brass Band, which has released six studio albums and has performed all over the world. Tony decided to pursue a degree in Music Performance from NYU, where he the privilege to study with tenor greats Ralph Lalama and George Garzone and other NYC jazz musicians such as Frank Kimbrough and Ron McClure. Tony attended the Banff International summer Jazz Workshop in 2000, getting to study and share the stage with Tony Malaby, Dave Ballou, Kenny Werner, Joe Lovano, Ben Monder, Joey Baron and others. Immediately following this experience, Tony joined the Glenn Miller Orchestra for six months before completing his degree at NYU. In June 2013, Tony relocated to Madison, WI. He quickly became entrenched in the local music scene playing as a sideman with many different groups including Immigre (afro-pop), Golpe Tierra (afro- peruvian jazz), the Big Payback (funk), the Darren Sterrud Orchestra (big band), Mama Digdown’s Brass Band (New Orleans Brass Band), and the Johannes Wallman Quartet (jazz). 2015 led to an opportunity to record with Bon Iver on their upcoming fall 2016 release, 22, A Million. In addition to co-leading a new organ quartet called Barbacoa, Tony is also performing as a solo artist and recently released his first solo album, Winter’s Arms. Tony continues to perform with the globetrotting Youngblood Brass Band, which recently concluded a five week/ten country tour in the fall of 2016. Besides performing, Tony also is an active educator at local schools and at his own private studio, focusing on saxophone, clarinet and flute instruction.