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Brad Leali
Brad Leali, assistant professor of jazz saxophone and director of the Three O'Clock Lab Band.
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UNT faculty member to perform in band at inaugural festivities
DENTON (UNT), Texas -- A University of North Texas College of Music faculty member will perform at the opening night of the presidential inauguration events, where he will play in the band accompanying such performers as Beyonce, Garth Brooks, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder. Brad Leali, assistant professor of jazz saxophone and director of the Three O'Clock Lab Band at UNT, is in Washington, D.C., now to rehearse with the band for the live performance of "We are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial" on Jan. 18 (Sunday). The performance will be broadcast on HBO. "It's an extreme honor," said Leali, a Grammy-nominated saxophonist who has previously performed with the band as part of The Kennedy Center Honors program. "It's history; it's something that I will be able to share with my family, friends and children, and I am happy to be representing the University of North Texas at an event of this magnitude." Leali, who earned a bachelor's degree in music from UNT in 1990, joined the UNT jazz studies faculty in Fall 2008. He has performed with the Count Basie Orchestra, Harry Connick Jr. Orchestra and in collaborations with such well-known artists as Freddie Hubbard, Clark Terry, Joe Williams, Jimmy Cobb and others. In addition to Leali, the band performing at the Jan. 18 inaugural event includes another UNT alumnus, saxophonist Lou "Blue Lou" Marini, one of the members of the original Saturday Night Live band. Leali began the 12- to 15-hour daily band rehearsals in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 14 (Wednesday). He will be back at UNT on Jan. 19 (Monday) to hear saxophone students audition for UNT jazz bands.
UNT News Service Phone Number: (940) 565-2108
Contact: Ellen Rossetti (940) 369-7912
Email: erossetti@unt.edu
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