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Geoffrey Keezer

With his highly regarded discography, unique compositions, and acclaimed performances in a variety of configurations, multiple GRAMMY®-nominated pianist Geoffrey Keezer commands the attention typically reserved for the living legends of jazz. A native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Keezer was playing in jazz clubs as a teenager, holding down the piano chair for Art Blakey at age 18, and touring in the company of Ray Brown, Joshua Redman, Diana Krall, Art Farmer, Benny Golson and Barbara Hendricks in his 20s. More recently he has toured with Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, Chris Botti, Sting, Joe Locke and Christian McBride; produced and arranged three GRAMMY®-nominated recordings with vocalist Denise Donatelli, and released a series of albums drawing influences from Hawaiian, Okinawan and Afro-Peruvian folk traditions. His 2009 album Áurea (ArtistShare) was nominated for a Best Latin Jazz Album GRAMMY® award. Geoffrey’s 2013 solo piano release, Heart of the Piano (Motema Records), seeks to redefine solo jazz piano as a personal and interactive showcase of melody, energy and groove, while his latest album On My Way to You (MarKeez Records 2018) is a stunning new set of music featuring his working trio with the addition of guest vocalist Gillian Margot.

Geoffrey’s compositions have been commissioned by the Mainly Mozart Festival, Art of Elán ensemble, Saint Joseph Ballet, Zeltsman Marimba Festival, Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra and Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. His music can be heard in the films What Happens in Vegas and Inhale, and in numerous TV shows including The Young and the Restless (CBS), Parks and Recreation (NBC), House of Lies (Showtime), and Casual (Hulu Original).

Time Magazine wrote, “Geoffrey has more than enough virtuosity and sheer musical wit and intelligence to weave all of his apparently disparate strands of influence into an original and compelling whole”, and pop icon Sting said “In the universe of piano players that I have been exposed to over the years, Geoffrey has proved himself to be not only a superb technician and improviser, but also above and beyond this, a composer and conceptualist who can maintain the overall line and the DNA of the song in everything he plays. A musician’s musician.”

Tags

13
Album Review

Geoffrey Keezer: Live at Birdland

Read "Live at Birdland" reviewed by Pierre Giroux


Pianist Geoffrey Keezer's 2024 release, Live At Birdland, is his first live trio recording in more than 15 years. Accompanied by those rhythmic stalwarts, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Clarence Penn, the group gives a tutorial in the art of the jazz trio filled with unparalleled intimacy and dynamism. In constructing the track list, Keezer wanted to acknowledge the contribution of his heroes, Wayne Shorter and Chick Corea, to his music and his career. Accordingly, three compositions from each are ...

8
Album Review

Yvonnick Prené & Geoffrey Keezer: Jobim's World

Read "Jobim's World" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


If there's such a thing as casual sophistication, Yvonnick Prené has it in spades. That aspect of this chromatic harmonica pro's playing has shown itself to varying degrees across his discography and it's highly pronounced in these gorgeous and intimate duo performances with pianist Geoffrey Keezer. After releasing Listen! (Sunnyside, 2023) to great acclaim, this leader was looking to move away from that album's modernistic quintet format. So, in brainstorming with producer Daniel Yvinec, the idea of ...

37
Album Review

David Whitman: Ode To Joe

Read "Ode To Joe" reviewed by Jack Bowers


While West Coast drummer David Whitman's Ode to Joe [Henderson] is a rather brief one at less than thirty-three minutes, it is otherwise admirable for what is enclosed within its concise parameters. Whitman leads a well-schooled septet whose makeup is freshened by rotating tenor saxophonists Bob Sheppard and Rob Lockart and guitarists Bruce Forman and Chris Montgomery. Whitman and trumpeter Andrew Neesley share composer credits, and Neesley handles the arrangements, awakening warm memories of the Golden Age ...

7
Album Review

David Whitman: Ode To Joe

Read "Ode To Joe" reviewed by Richard J Salvucci


Dipping into this fine recording is, to mix metaphors a bit, like opening a time capsule. That capsule is called One For All (A&M, 1990), perhaps the final studio recording of Art Blakey with The Jazz Messengers. It was not a perfect outing, but it was a memorable one. The lines got into the head and stayed there, just waiting for a chance to be reawakened. Well, now is the time with Ode to Joe. A convenient link between the ...

8
Album Review

Michael Dease: The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill

Read "The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Gregg Hill is a jazz composer favored by several jazz musicians who have recorded entire albums of his work, such as guitarist Randy Napoleon and bassist Rodney Whitaker. Here trombonist Michael Dease joins the party with a full album of Hill pieces arranged for a quintet. Hill's writing on this album delves into a wide array of conventional forms such as blues, ballads, and Latin jazz, but always with unique twists and ideas present. Some of his compositions ...

4
Liner Notes

Michael Dease: The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill

Read "Michael Dease: The Other Shoe: The Music of Gregg Hill" reviewed by AAJ Staff


"Think of any big city," Greg Hill says, introducing the narrative armature of his composition, “The Other Shoe," the denouement and title track of this stimulating collaboration with Michael Dease, who arranged each of Hill's 10 compositions contained herein. “It's 2 in the morning, you're still awake, and your neighbor comes in upstairs. You hear the first clunk when his shoe hits the floor. Then you wait. He may be inebriated. It may take a while to get the other ...

3
Album Review

Brian Landrus: Red List

Read "Red List" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Saxophonist Brian Landrus created this project with a purpose summed up in its subtitle, Music Dedicated to the Preservation of our Endangered Species. The album was made to create awareness about all the animal species on Earth in danger of extinction, thirteen of which are explicitly referenced here. For most of these, such as the Malayan tiger and the snow leopard, only a few hundreds or thousands are still alive. For the Javan rhino, there were only 67 left at ...

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3

Performance / Tour

Premier Marimbist Mika Stoltzman Premieres Works By Geoffrey Keezer, Joel Ross, And John Zorn At Carnegie Hall May 2nd

Premier Marimbist Mika Stoltzman Premieres Works By Geoffrey Keezer, Joel Ross, And John Zorn At Carnegie Hall May 2nd

Source: AMT Public Relations

Premier Marimbist Mika Stoltzman Returns to Carnegie Hall for the Eleventh Time in One-Night Only Concert May 2, 2023 Including world premiere by Geoffrey Keezer, U.S. premiere by Joel Ross, and New York premiere by John Zorn Featuring special guest clarinetist Richard Stoltzman “high-wire jazz marimbist…an amazing, energetic performer” –The Los Angeles Times “Mika brings a joyful enthusiasm to the marimba that is captivating.” –Chick Corea “She’s a brilliantly borderless artist…one-of-a-kind musician.” –All About Jazz Hailed as a “Japanese marimba ...

Video / DVD

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Geoffrey Keezer

StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Spotlight on Geoffrey Keezer

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman

This week, let's look at some videos featuring pianist Geoffrey Keezer, who's coming to St. Louis to perform on Thursday, December 13 at the HQ of pianist Peter Martin's Open Studio, which is in the Centene Center for the Arts, 3547 Olive St. in Grand Center. Originally from Eau Claire, WI, Keezer, 48, was something of a teenage phenom, joining Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers when he was just 18 years old. Since then, he's gone on to work with many ...

1

Recording

Expressive Vocalist Christine Hitt Releases "Magical Kite," Produced By Geoffrey Keezer

Expressive Vocalist Christine Hitt Releases "Magical Kite," Produced By Geoffrey Keezer

Source: Mouthpiece Music

For vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Christine Hitt, music is a family affair. Her father was a band director and her mother was a piano teacher and professional vocalist. Hitt married a trumpet player, and two of her three sons appear on Hitt’s newest CD, Magical Kite. Hitt’s warm voice can express a rich tapestry of tones, and she sings ballads and swing tunes with equal facility. The selection of songs on Magical Kite, from standards to gospel to bebop, reflects Hitt’s ...

1

Award / Grant

Grammy Nominated Vocalist Denise Donatelli Releases New Recording "Soul Shadows" on Savant Records. Musical Direction by Geoffrey Keezer

Grammy Nominated Vocalist Denise Donatelli Releases New Recording "Soul Shadows" on Savant Records. Musical Direction by Geoffrey Keezer

Source: Two for the Show Media

Los Angeles-based vocalist Denise Donatelli won a Grammy nomination with her second Savant CD, When Lights Are Low (Savant SCD 2109). An East Coast native and a recipient of classical piano training, she turned to singing jazz, wound up relocating to the West Coast and has pursued her performance and recording career ever since.  Possessing a voice of exceptional nuance, agility and unerring pitch, Denise is able to imbue whatever she chooses to sing with her special warmth, wit and ...

29

Recording

Vibraphonist Joe Locke Debuts on Motema with New CD from The Joe Locke/Geoffrey Keezer Group, Signing

Vibraphonist Joe Locke Debuts on Motema with New CD from The Joe Locke/Geoffrey Keezer Group, Signing

Source: GoMedia PR

CD Will Be Released April 10 in the US and Europe In a career moving from one milestone to the next with accelerating regularity, the past decade has represented particularly extraordinary artistic growth for vibraphonist Joe Locke as a composer and leader. Beginning in 2001 with the Storms/Nocturnes Trio collaboration with Geoffrey Keezer and Tim Garland, and moving forward with projects under his own leadership—ranging from the Four Walls of Freedom group and Milt Jackson Tribute Band to the more ...

389

Recording

"VIA" - the new recording by the Storms/Nocturnes Trio: Tim Garland, Geoffrey Keezer, Joe Locke

"VIA" - the new recording by the Storms/Nocturnes Trio: Tim Garland, Geoffrey Keezer, Joe Locke

Source: Nadja von Massow

With VIA the third album by the Storms/Nocturnes Trio, celebrated British saxophonist Tim Garland, world leading vibraphone virtuoso Joe Locke and recent Grammy nominee, pianist Geoffrey Keezer, create a unique three way dialogue of captivating, immersive music. This enduring international alliance of three jazz giants is celebrating its tenth anniversary with this album, released on Seattle-based Origin Records on April 19th 2011. After two successful recordings—Storms/Nocturnes (2001) and Rising Tide (2003, both Sirocco Music)—and a gap of seven years busy ...

114

Recording

Be a Part of Storms/Nocturnes' New Album, Featuring Geoffrey Keezer, Joe Locke & Tim Garland

Be a Part of Storms/Nocturnes' New Album, Featuring Geoffrey Keezer, Joe Locke & Tim Garland

Source: Nadja von Massow

Eight years after their last, critically acclaimed recording and tricky scheduling to coordinate three busy international calendars, Tim Garland, Geoffrey Keezer and Joe Locke are about to record their third album in November under the name of the Storms/Nocturnes Trio. After substantial own investment and generous help from friends in the industry to guarantee artistic control and integrity, the project is almost on its way. For the final push, we would like to ask for your support, become part of ...

106

Award / Grant

Geoffrey Keezer Nominated for a Grammy

Geoffrey Keezer Nominated for a Grammy

Source: Michael Ricci

Geoffrey Keezer may have just received his first Grammy nomination (Best Latin Jazz Album for his record Aurea), but he is by no means a newbie to the music scene. Since the tender age of 18, when Keezer began playing with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, he has made a name for himself in the jazz world. When asked to comment on his record urea and its recent Grammy nomination, Keezer had the following to say, “It's my first [Grammy nomination], ...

159

Interview

Pianist Geoffrey Keezer Interviewed at AAJ

Pianist Geoffrey Keezer Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz

Pianist/composer Geoffrey Keezer has been playing piano since age three and has been on the road since 1989 when he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers after a year at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Over the years, he's recorded steadily and played with numerous jazz luminaries including Ray Brown, Diana Krall, Joshua Redman, Christian McBride, Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Benny Green, and Mulgrew Miller.

But of late, things have changed for Keezer. In a few different ways.

He ...

115

Performance / Tour

Geoffrey Keezer with Ron Blake- February 22, 2008 - Harlem in the Himalayas Jazz Series- Rubin Museum NYC

Geoffrey Keezer with Ron Blake- February 22, 2008 - Harlem in the Himalayas Jazz Series- Rubin Museum NYC

Source: Two for the Show Media

Pianist & Composer, Geoffrey Keezer will be performing in duo format with saxophonist Ron Blake as part of the Harlem in the Himalayas series at the Rubin Museum in New York City on February 22nd, 2008 -Showtime 7:00 PM Geoffrey Keezer - Piano Ron Blake - Saxophone Harlem in the Himalayas Series Rubin Museum 150 West 17th Street NYC February 22, 2008 - Showtime - 7:00 PM Admission $18 in ...

"Geoffrey possesses a refreshingly open-eared sensibility in the modern manner, and he has more than enough virtuosity and sheer musical wit and intelligence to weave all of his apparently disparate strands of influence into an original and compelling whole." —Time Magazine

"In the universe of piano players that I have been exposed to over the years, Geoffrey has proved himself to be not only a superb technician and improviser, but also above and beyond this, a composer and conceptualist who can maintain the overall line and the DNA of the song in everything he plays. A musician's musician." - Sting

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Primary Instrument

Keyboards

Location

New York City

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Jobim's World

Sunnyside Records
2024

buy

The Other Shoe: The...

Origin Records
2023

buy

One Day, Forever

Arkadia Records
2023

buy

Ode To Joe

Shifting Paradigm Records
2023

buy

Red List

Palmetto Records
2022

buy

Wake Up Call

From: The Other Shoe: The Music of...
By Geoffrey Keezer

Limelight

From: Heart of the Piano
By Geoffrey Keezer

Videos

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