Introducing The Verve Sax Quartet
The Verve Saxophone Quartet was established in 2007, and has been entertaining enthusiastic audiences with exciting ensemble performances throughout Orange and Los Angeles Counties.
The quartet plays various styles of jazz, such as be-bop, ragtime, big band swing, Broadway hits, and contemporary arrangements of popular music, but specializes in the style of “West Coast Jazz”. 
The group’s members have been profoundly affected by their love for the style of West Coast Jazz, which was developed around the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Many of the arrangements that the group performs were originally recorded by the Hollywood Sax Quartet, which helped to define a new era of jazz arranged for small ensembles. Most of this jazz repertoire was arranged by Lennie Niehaus, one of the great West Coast alto sax players and arrangers. Niehaus created many arrangements for Stan Kenton, and countless television and motion picture soundtracks.
The goals of the Verve Saxophone Quartet are not only to entertain, but also to educate and inspire listeners and musicians alike. The beautiful and diverse styles and harmonies created by four saxophones consistently surprises audiences. The quartet showcases the talent and versatility of the ensemble through performances ranging from majestic ballads to hard swinging jazz, to brilliant arrangements of popular music by The Beatles, Henry Mancini, and many more. The arrangements are exciting and well orchestrated, each painting a picture, and taking the listener on a unique musical journey.
- Dennis
- Ed
- Ken
- Paul
Dennis Rudolph: Dennis has been a saxophone player since the age of eleven. He studied with outstanding musicians such as Frank Chase, Bud Shank, Don Raffell, Harry Klee, and others. Dennis played in the 28th Army Band at Monterey, and later the 30th Army Band in Germany.
He has played with musicians such as Walt Johnson, Quinn Davis, Dennis Noday, and worked with arrangers Bruce Broughton and John Morgan. He has performed regularly
with the jazz ensembles at Irvine Valley College, Orange Coast College, Saddleback College, the Wind Symphony at Irvine Valley College, and various big bands and combo groups all around Los Angeles and Orange Counties. In those ensembles Dennis has played along with outstanding artists such as Tom Margitan, Ron Stout, Scott Martin, Andy Martin, Bruce Eskovitz, Bob McChesney and others.
Ed Peffer: A native of the Los Angeles area, Ed Peffer works professionally as a saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer and arranger, and private woodwind instructor. He received a Masters in Music in Commercial Music degree in performance and arranging from California State University Los Angeles, and got his Bachelor of Arts in Music degree at California State University Long Beach. Ed was appointed as the director of the first jazz ensemble at Irvine Valley College in the Fall of 1999, where he currently teaches the Instrumental Jazz Ensemble. Ed has also taught Jazz Combos, and Jazz Improvisation, and Music 1: Basics of Music.
Ed has worked with numerous professionals in the Southern California area, including Don Menza, Tom Scott, Dan Higgins, Eric Marienthal, Bill Watrous, Scott Martin, Pete Christlieb, Ron Stout, Gary Foster, Oscar Brashear, Roy "Guitar" Gaines, and countless others. He has performed as a sideman for many different musical productions, including: West Side Story, The King and I, Gypsy, Anything Goes, Man of La Mancha, Guys & Dolls, Phantom, Wizard of Oz, Pirates of Penzance, La Cage Aux Folles, Will Roger's Follies, Crazy for You, and many others.
Ed currently performs with a variety of groups such as UnTamed World, Pete Jacobs and the Wartime Radio Revue, Big Noyz, Electric Mayhem, the Karl Aranjo Jazz Attack band, and Big Band 2000, Big Box of Men, as well as his own jazz duo with guitarist Kevin Holmes, and his own contemporary jazz quintet, Soul FX. This group recorded their first demo-CD, Ed Peffer and Express, which was released in February of 2001, and is available for purchase on this website and at www.cdbaby.com.
Ed has performed at various clubs such as the Baked Potato in Pasadena, Gaucho Grill in Fullerton, System M in Long Beach, Tivoli Terrace in Laguna Beach, and Steamer's Café in Fullerton. As a sideman, his saxophone, clarinet, and flute playing can be heard on several CD recordings, including the Southern California folk duo Evans and Oberbeck, "Down to the Wood", Cottonwood Christian Church, "Holy Nation", Charles Rutherford's Jazz Pacific Orchestra, "Collage", the Mike Drange band, "I Understand", Amy Christian, "Intimacy", the Latin rock group, Brownbag (self-titled), Sharlin Wohl, "Something Out There", and many others.
Ken Sill: Ken has been a musician since the age of 12, and has been playing the saxophone in the Orange County area for nearly 20 years. He has been a longtime member of the Moonlight Express Big Band, Saddleback College Big Band and combos, and the Saxomania saxophone quartet. He has also been a member of the Paul Cacia Orchestra, Irvine Valley College Big Band, Santa Ana College Big Band and the SAC Latin Jazz Ensemble, San Bernardino Valley College Big Band, UC Irvine Big Band, Burling Street jazz quintet, and the Funkyard Dogs. He has been a longtime sub with the Karl Aranjo Jazz Attack and Blues Bettie, and has performed and recorded with countless other professional and college big bands, jazz combos and saxophone quartets, including his own jazz trio.
Ken has been fortunate enough to have performed alongside such jazz notables as James Moody, Frank Foster, Nicolas Payton, Buddy Collette, David Liebman, Oscar Brashear, Bill Holman, Gary Foster, Kim Richmond, Pete Christlieb, Joey Sellers, Tom Kubis, Paul Cacia, Bill Watrous, Robert Curnow, Buddy Childers, Ron Stout, Jerry Pinter, Wayne Bergeron, Keith Bishop, Danny House, Eric Marienthal, Andy, Scott snd Stan Martin, Sal Cracchiolo, Brandon Fields, and many others, and the list continues to grow …
Paul Baker: Paul started his musical journey in elementary school as a drummer, and played for several years until he developed an interest in jazz guitar. He studied with several fine teachers, including Neil Seidel, Toni Rizzi (Benny Goodman), and played in various small groups and jazz combos for many years. He started playing saxophone, which became his main instrument. He has studied flute and saxophone with John Dietz, Keith Bishop, Ed Peffer, Paul Navidad, and others.
In addition to playing in the Verve Sax Quartet, Paul has played in the Orange Coast College Jazz Band under the direction of Paul Navidad, Saddleback College with Joey Sellers, and Irvine Valley College Jazz Band with Ed Peffer. In those ensembles Paul has played along with outstanding artists such as Tom Margitan, Ron Stout, Scott Martin, Andy Martin, Bruce Eskovitz, Bob McChesney, Bobby Rodriguez and others. He has played with various Big Bands in the Orange County and Los Angeles areas. He is currently playing baritone in the big band South Coast Swing, based in Laguna Beach. Paul also rehearses his own octet and small combo groups, and plays casuals around Los Angeles and Orange Counties.