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Valerie
Gillespie was born in the beautiful state of Pennsylvania, where at
the ripe old age of eight she picked up a saxophone for the first
time. She was paid for her first professional gig at the age of fourteen  and has been playing ever since, though not strictly on stage. Valerie
paid her dues in the university classrooms just like the rest of us,
earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Carnegie-Mellon University
in Pittsburgh with a major in Classical Saxophone. Not content to stop
there, she went on to get her Masters Degree in Jazz Saxophone from
the University of South Florida in Tampa. Being a well-rounded player
is something that is very important to Valerie. She might be seen
one night playing classical pieces with the Florida Orchestra, the
next evening playing with a jazz band in the park, then on Sunday
morning you will usually find her playing in church.
Ask her which of her horns she
prefers and she will certainly say it is her alto sax, a Selmer Mark
VI that she bought when she was just a young tyke. Since those
days she has also acquired a Selmer Mark VI tenor and baritone sax, as
well as soprano sax, flute, alto flute, piccolo, and clarinet.
Valerie is an accomplished vocalist as well, with such influences
as Diana Krall, Nancy Wilson, Shirley Horn, Carmen McRae, Diane Shuur,
and many others.
Valerie has been fortunate enough to
have played with many of the great entertainers of our time, including;
Chick Corea, Bobby McFerrin, Rosemary Clooney, George Burns, Ben Vereen,
Joan Rivers, Ray Charles, Jon Faddis, Steve Allen, Anthony Newly.
And, she has traveled extensively with the Xavier Cugat Orchestra in
the U.S. and Japan. Valerie has served on the faculty of the University of South Florida
since the late 90’s, and stays busy there helping the saxophonists
develop their skills in classical and jazz saxophone. She can also
be seen there appearing with the Faculty Jazz Ensemble and Chuck Owen’s
Jazz Surge. Valerie also devotes considerable time helping to
educate local students to learn music, and jazz in particular.
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