Music in the Library: A Concert Series will feature music by the Sal Andolina Quintet on Friday evening, April 16 at 7 p.m. The concert will take place in the main library room of the Town of Collins Public Library, located at 234l Main St. (Route 39) in Collins.

     The Sal Andolina Quintet concert promises to be a joyous excursion into the Golden Age of Swing. The quintet recently released a CD titled “Like Benny to Me,” which is a tribute to the legendary Benny Goodman. Regarding the tribute to Goodman, Andolina relates how he first met the jazz great at a chamber concert in New York: “It was amazing to have a legend sitting so close, hearing and watching every note! Afterward, Benny came up to me and said, ‘Next time you’re in town, call me.’ Without missing a beat, I said, ‘Well, I’m here tomorrow.’” Andolina went to Goodman’s home the next day. They played for two hours - Mozart and Bach duets, went through some of the literature, Brahams, Copland and Poúlenc. Andolina’s CD revives 15 Goodman favorites.

     Andolina has been a full-time member of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for a number of years, playing both clarinet and saxophone. He has also been featured with the Rochester Philharmonic, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Fresno Philharmonic, the Ars Nova Chamber Orchestra under Marylouise Nanna and the Artpark Festival Orchestra.

     As an active teacher, Andolina has taught at Buffalo State College, SUNY Buffalo, Houghton College and SUNY Fredonia.

     Andolina’s performance career was launched very early as a founding member of the Amherst Saxophone Quartet with which he toured and recorded. More recently, he has formed the De Capo Saxophone Quartet. As a soloist and chamber player, he has made many appearances at major concert venues across the United States and abroad, including spotlight performances from coast to coast at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York and in Los Angeles with Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show.

     The Friends of the Collins Public Library sponsor the Music in the Library series. Concerts are held once a month from September through April. All concerts are free and open to the public, although free will donations are accepted.

     This event is made possible in part by the Arts Council in Buffalo & Erie County with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program. Funding is also provided by the Gowanda Branch of Community Bank, N.A.; the Gowanda Branch of HSBC Bank USA; Hills Funeral Chapel; and McCormack’s Hardware.

     For more information, call the Collins Public Library at 716-532-5129.