Biography
Geoffrey Keezer stands out as a pianist, composer, and arranger whose Grammy-winning work highlights both his fluid improvisational technique and his refined handling of post-bop jazz. While still a teenager in the late 1980s, he joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and earned early praise as one of the ensemble's final members. In addition to extended stints alongside Art Farmer and Ray Brown, Keezer has collaborated with an array of leading figures such as Christian McBride, Joshua Redman, and Sting. His first Blue Note recording arrived in 1991 under the title Here and Now, and he continues to co-direct the Storms/Nocturnes trio together with saxophonist Tim Garland and vibraphonist Joe Locke. Further recognition has followed, beginning with a Grammy nomination in the Best Latin Jazz Album category for the 2009 release Aurea and culminating in a Grammy win for Best Instrumental Composition for the track "Refuge" from the 2022 album Playdate.
Born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1970, Keezer was raised in a household devoted to music; both parents taught the subject, his father played drums, and his mother performed on piano and French horn. Piano study began at age three, with formal instruction starting at age five. Jazz captured his attention during his teenage years, and he gained initial performing experience in his father's band. Following high school, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, where he received the Young Talent Award at the 1987 National Association of Jazz Educators convention held in Atlanta, Georgia.
He soon transferred to Berklee College of Music in Boston to concentrate more fully on jazz. During that period he issued his first album as a leader, the 1989 Sunnyside Records post-bop session Waiting in the Wings, which featured trumpeter Bill Mobley, saxophonist Bill Pierce, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, bassist Rufus Reid, and drummer Tony Reedus. The following year he returned to the same label with the quartet recording Curveball, again including Nelson along with drummer Victor Lewis and bassist Charnett Moffett.
The year 1989 marked a decisive turn when, after only one year at Berklee, Keezer departed to become the pianist in Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He remained with the group until Blakey's passing in 1990, during which time the lineup included trumpeter Brian Lynch, bassist Essiet Okon Essiet, tenor saxophonists Javon Jackson and Dale Barlow, and trombonists Frank Lacy and Steve Davis on an alternating basis. Two 1990 Messengers albums, Chippin' In and One for All, document Keezer's participation.
His Blue Note debut, Here and Now, appeared in 1990 and once more spotlighted vibraphonist Nelson, together with bassist Peter Washington, drummer Billy Higgins, and altoist Donald Harrison as a guest. Keezer next explored his Messengers background on Other Spheres, retaining several associates including Bill Mobley, Bill Pierce, and guitarist Peter Bernstein. Also in 1990 he entered trumpeter Art Farmer's quartet, toured extensively with the group, and served for a time as its musical director. By 1997 he had moved on to legendary bassist Ray Brown's trio. Additional performances throughout the decade placed him onstage with Gerry Mulligan, Dizzy Gillespie, J.J. Johnson, Kenny Burrell, and Ray Brown, among other jazz luminaries.
During the 1990s Keezer also toured as a member of Three Musicians alongside Joshua Redman and Christian McBride, both of whom appear on his 1998 album Turn Up the Quiet. He further participated in the Contemporary Piano Ensemble, a five-piano collective that included James Williams, Mulgrew Miller, Harold Mabern, and Donald Brown; the group issued the albums Four Pianos for Phineas and The Key Players.
Keezer resumed his own projects in 2000 with the solo piano recording Zero One. Two years later he released Storms/Nocturnes, the first album by his trio with saxophonist Tim Garland and vibraphonist Joe Locke. He also saluted pianist Hank Jones on Sublime, a duet project pairing him with Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Benny Green, and Mulgrew Miller. A second Storms/Nocturnes album, Rising Tide, followed in 2003. Several recordings then appeared on the MaxJazz label, among them 2003's Falling Up with bassist Scott Colley and drummer Karriem Riggins, plus guests trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and Hawaiian slack key guitarist Keola Beamer, and the 2005 live set Wildcrafted: Live at the Dakota featuring bassist Matt Clohesy and drummer Terreon Gully.
The 2009 album Aurea, recorded with Peruvian, Argentinian, and New York-based musicians including percussionist Hugo Alcázar, saxophonist Ron Blake, and vocalist Sofia Rei, earned Keezer his first Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album. A second nomination arrived in 2010 for his contributions to vocalist Denise Donatelli's album When Lights Are Low. Via, the third Storms/Nocturnes release, appeared in 2011. His next solo piano outing, Heart of the Piano, came in 2013. The 2018 trio album On My Way to You featured singer Gillian Margot, and that same year Keezer performed on Sting and Shaggy's album 44/876. The orchestral-tinged 2022 release Playdate included saxophonist Blake, organist Shedrick Mitchell, bassist Richie Goods, and drummer Kendrick Scott; the album received the Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition for Keezer's composition "Refuge."
Born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in 1970, Keezer was raised in a household devoted to music; both parents taught the subject, his father played drums, and his mother performed on piano and French horn. Piano study began at age three, with formal instruction starting at age five. Jazz captured his attention during his teenage years, and he gained initial performing experience in his father's band. Following high school, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, where he received the Young Talent Award at the 1987 National Association of Jazz Educators convention held in Atlanta, Georgia.
He soon transferred to Berklee College of Music in Boston to concentrate more fully on jazz. During that period he issued his first album as a leader, the 1989 Sunnyside Records post-bop session Waiting in the Wings, which featured trumpeter Bill Mobley, saxophonist Bill Pierce, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, bassist Rufus Reid, and drummer Tony Reedus. The following year he returned to the same label with the quartet recording Curveball, again including Nelson along with drummer Victor Lewis and bassist Charnett Moffett.
The year 1989 marked a decisive turn when, after only one year at Berklee, Keezer departed to become the pianist in Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. He remained with the group until Blakey's passing in 1990, during which time the lineup included trumpeter Brian Lynch, bassist Essiet Okon Essiet, tenor saxophonists Javon Jackson and Dale Barlow, and trombonists Frank Lacy and Steve Davis on an alternating basis. Two 1990 Messengers albums, Chippin' In and One for All, document Keezer's participation.
His Blue Note debut, Here and Now, appeared in 1990 and once more spotlighted vibraphonist Nelson, together with bassist Peter Washington, drummer Billy Higgins, and altoist Donald Harrison as a guest. Keezer next explored his Messengers background on Other Spheres, retaining several associates including Bill Mobley, Bill Pierce, and guitarist Peter Bernstein. Also in 1990 he entered trumpeter Art Farmer's quartet, toured extensively with the group, and served for a time as its musical director. By 1997 he had moved on to legendary bassist Ray Brown's trio. Additional performances throughout the decade placed him onstage with Gerry Mulligan, Dizzy Gillespie, J.J. Johnson, Kenny Burrell, and Ray Brown, among other jazz luminaries.
During the 1990s Keezer also toured as a member of Three Musicians alongside Joshua Redman and Christian McBride, both of whom appear on his 1998 album Turn Up the Quiet. He further participated in the Contemporary Piano Ensemble, a five-piano collective that included James Williams, Mulgrew Miller, Harold Mabern, and Donald Brown; the group issued the albums Four Pianos for Phineas and The Key Players.
Keezer resumed his own projects in 2000 with the solo piano recording Zero One. Two years later he released Storms/Nocturnes, the first album by his trio with saxophonist Tim Garland and vibraphonist Joe Locke. He also saluted pianist Hank Jones on Sublime, a duet project pairing him with Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Benny Green, and Mulgrew Miller. A second Storms/Nocturnes album, Rising Tide, followed in 2003. Several recordings then appeared on the MaxJazz label, among them 2003's Falling Up with bassist Scott Colley and drummer Karriem Riggins, plus guests trumpeter Ingrid Jensen and Hawaiian slack key guitarist Keola Beamer, and the 2005 live set Wildcrafted: Live at the Dakota featuring bassist Matt Clohesy and drummer Terreon Gully.
The 2009 album Aurea, recorded with Peruvian, Argentinian, and New York-based musicians including percussionist Hugo Alcázar, saxophonist Ron Blake, and vocalist Sofia Rei, earned Keezer his first Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album. A second nomination arrived in 2010 for his contributions to vocalist Denise Donatelli's album When Lights Are Low. Via, the third Storms/Nocturnes release, appeared in 2011. His next solo piano outing, Heart of the Piano, came in 2013. The 2018 trio album On My Way to You featured singer Gillian Margot, and that same year Keezer performed on Sting and Shaggy's album 44/876. The orchestral-tinged 2022 release Playdate included saxophonist Blake, organist Shedrick Mitchell, bassist Richie Goods, and drummer Kendrick Scott; the album received the Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition for Keezer's composition "Refuge."
Albums
