Geoff Keezer
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey Keezer, born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin
, USA on November 20, 1970, is a jazz pianist. Born into a musical family, with both parents teaching music, he began studying piano at the age of three. In 1989, at the age of 18, after completing his first year at the Berklee College of Music
, Geoffrey joined Art Blakey
's Jazz Messengers. Since then, Geoffrey has worked with virtually all of the living legends of jazz and has appeared on countless recordings both as a leader and as an accompanist.
His professional career has spanned many projects and genres. In 1992 Geoffrey performed Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue
" with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
under the direction of John Mauceri
. In addition to his dozen solo releases and constant touring, Geoffrey has also had compositions commissioned by the Carnegie Hall
Jazz Band, Saint Joseph Ballet, Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, the Nancy Zeltsman
Marimba Festival, and was a recipient of Chamber Music America’s 2007 New Works grant. He has also played bass in a rock band and contributed artwork to David W. Mack
's comic "Kabuki".
Geoffrey continues to work in partnership with world class musicians from all genres. His 1998 release, "Turn Up The Quiet", featured Grammy winning vocalist Diana Krall
along with Joshua Redman
and Christian McBride
. His partnership with world renowned classical artist Barbara Hendricks
as musical director and arranger produced "It’s Wonderful — A Tribute to George Gershwin
" with subsequent touring in Europe
and Japan
. His two releases in 2003, "Falling Up" and "Sublime: Honoring the Music of Hank Jones
", were both collaborative efforts. "Sublime" is an ambitious set of piano duets with Kenny Barron
, Chick Corea
, Benny Green (pianist)
and Mulgrew Miller
. "Falling Up" features several pieces where Geoffrey worked in tandem with the Hawaii
an Slack-key guitar
ist, Keola Beamer
. His 2005 release, "Wildcrafted", captures the fire and raw energy of Geoffrey’s trio live in concert at the Dakota Jazz Club
in Minneapolis. His 2005 recording "Live in Seattle", a collaboration with vibes player Joe Locke
, won the Golden EarShot Award for 'Concert of the Year'. And in 2006, Geoffrey teamed up with traditional Okinawan singer Yasukatsu Oshima for a groundbreaking album of duets.
Geoffrey’s latest musical adventure, Áurea (2009 - ArtistShare
), is a multinational Afro-Peruvian
/jazz
recording project featuring some of today’s hottest players from New York City
and Lima, Peru. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award
(Best Latin Jazz Album). It was a fan-funded project through ArtistShare
.
Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Eau Claire is a city located in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 65,883 as of the 2010 census, making it the largest municipality in the northwestern portion of the state, and the 9th largest in the state overall. It is the county seat of Eau Claire County,...
, USA on November 20, 1970, is a jazz pianist. Born into a musical family, with both parents teaching music, he began studying piano at the age of three. In 1989, at the age of 18, after completing his first year at the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, Geoffrey joined Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
's Jazz Messengers. Since then, Geoffrey has worked with virtually all of the living legends of jazz and has appeared on countless recordings both as a leader and as an accompanist.
His professional career has spanned many projects and genres. In 1992 Geoffrey performed Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue
Rhapsody in Blue
Rhapsody in Blue is a musical composition by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band written in 1924, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects....
" with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra
The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra is a symphony orchestra which is managed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and plays the vast majority of its performances at the Hollywood Bowl....
under the direction of John Mauceri
John Mauceri
John Francis Mauceri is an American conductor, producer and arranger for theatre, opera and television. For fifteen years, he served on the faculty of Yale University. He was a protege of Leonard Bernstein...
. In addition to his dozen solo releases and constant touring, Geoffrey has also had compositions commissioned by the Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
Jazz Band, Saint Joseph Ballet, Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, the Nancy Zeltsman
Nancy Zeltsman
International Marimba Soloist, Nancy Zeltsman has taught at the Boston Conservatory and Berklee College of Music since 1993.-Biography:Zeltsman was born in 1958 in Morristown, New Jersey...
Marimba Festival, and was a recipient of Chamber Music America’s 2007 New Works grant. He has also played bass in a rock band and contributed artwork to David W. Mack
David W. Mack
David W. Mack is an American comic book artist and writer, best known for his creator-owned series Kabuki. Mack is known for his unique painted and collage-like work...
's comic "Kabuki".
Geoffrey continues to work in partnership with world class musicians from all genres. His 1998 release, "Turn Up The Quiet", featured Grammy winning vocalist Diana Krall
Diana Krall
Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...
along with Joshua Redman
Joshua Redman
Joshua Redman is an American jazz saxophonist and composer who records for Nonesuch Records. He won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1991.-Biography:...
and Christian McBride
Christian McBride
Christian McBride is an American jazz bassist. His father, Lee Smith, and his great uncle, Howard Cooper, are well known Philadelphia bassists who served as McBride's early mentors...
. His partnership with world renowned classical artist Barbara Hendricks
Barbara Hendricks
Barbara Hendricks is an African American operatic soprano and concert singer. Hendricks has lived in Europe since 1977, and in Switzerland on Lake Geneva since 1985, She is a citizen of Sweden.-Early life and education:...
as musical director and arranger produced "It’s Wonderful — A Tribute to George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
" with subsequent touring in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. His two releases in 2003, "Falling Up" and "Sublime: Honoring the Music of Hank Jones
Hank Jones
Henry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award...
", were both collaborative efforts. "Sublime" is an ambitious set of piano duets with Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, Benny Green (pianist)
Benny Green (pianist)
Benny Green is a hard bop jazz pianist who was a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. He has been compared to Bud Powell in style and counts him as an influence. As a boy he grew up in Berkeley, California and studied classical piano from the age of seven...
and Mulgrew Miller
Mulgrew Miller
Mulgrew Miller is an American jazz pianist who performs in a number of jazz idioms. He began his career as member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.-Biography:...
. "Falling Up" features several pieces where Geoffrey worked in tandem with the Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an Slack-key guitar
Slack-key guitar
Slack-key guitar is a fingerstyle genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii. Its name refers to its characteristic open tunings: the English term is a translation of the Hawaiian kī hōalu, which means "loosen the [tuning] key"...
ist, Keola Beamer
Keola Beamer
Keola Beamer is a Hawaiian slack-key guitar player, best known as the composer of "Honolulu City Lights" and an innovative musician who fused Hawaiian roots and contemporary music.-Family:...
. His 2005 release, "Wildcrafted", captures the fire and raw energy of Geoffrey’s trio live in concert at the Dakota Jazz Club
Dakota Jazz Club
The Dakota Jazz Club and Restaurant is a jazz club in Twin Cities, Minnesota. The club opened in 1985 at Bandana Square in St. Paul as a restaurant with local jazz in the bar. In 1988, the programming expanded to national artists with performances by McCoy Tyner and Ahmad Jamal...
in Minneapolis. His 2005 recording "Live in Seattle", a collaboration with vibes player Joe Locke
Joe Locke
Joseph Paul Locke is a US American jazz vibraphonist, composer, recording artist and educator.-Biography:Locke was born in Palo Alto, California, but raised in Rochester, New York...
, won the Golden EarShot Award for 'Concert of the Year'. And in 2006, Geoffrey teamed up with traditional Okinawan singer Yasukatsu Oshima for a groundbreaking album of duets.
Geoffrey’s latest musical adventure, Áurea (2009 - ArtistShare
ArtistShare
ArtistShare is a crowdfunding website and labelWharton Innovation and Entrepreneurship Consulted on 10/12/2011 for musicians and other creative artists which allows them to fund their projects utilizing a "fan-funding" model to allow the general public to directly finance, watch the creative...
), is a multinational Afro-Peruvian
Afro-Peruvian
Afro Peruvians are citizens of Peru mostly descended from African slaves who were brought to the Western hemisphere with the arrival of the conquistadors towards the end of the slave trade.-Early history:...
/jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
recording project featuring some of today’s hottest players from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and Lima, Peru. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award
52nd Grammy Awards
The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares Person of the Year on January 29, two days prior to the Grammy telecast. Only ten of the 109 awards were received during the broadcast...
(Best Latin Jazz Album). It was a fan-funded project through ArtistShare
ArtistShare
ArtistShare is a crowdfunding website and labelWharton Innovation and Entrepreneurship Consulted on 10/12/2011 for musicians and other creative artists which allows them to fund their projects utilizing a "fan-funding" model to allow the general public to directly finance, watch the creative...
.