Geoffrey Keezer

Keezer joined the Art Farmer Quartet in 1990. The band performed at major North American jazz festivals and jazz clubs. Keezer served as musical director and arranger from 1994 to 1995. In 1997, Keezer became a member of bassist Ray Brown's trio. He toured the world with Brown, performing at clubs and major festivals in North America, Japan, Europe and the Middle East. The Ray Brown Trio played concerts with the Israel Philharmonic; the Radio Orchestra of Munich at the Weiner Konzerthaus and Conservatory in Vienna, Austria; and at Lincoln Center in New York City.

During the 1990s, he toured with The Key Players, featuring Mulgrew Miller, James Williams, Harold Mabern & Donald Brown;[9] a performance of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra;[10] a concert with the Gerry Mulligan Quartet at London's Albert Hall; a concert at Lincoln Center with Art Farmer and Wynton Marsalis; and performances with the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra, the Slide Hampton All-Stars, Dizzy Gillespie, J. J. Johnson and many others. He also traveled many times to Japan, where he played with Ray Brown Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny and Kenny Burrell.

His second album, Curveball, came out in 1990 and featured Victor Lewis on drums; Charnett Moffett on bass and Steve Nelson on vibes. He returned the next year with Here & Now (Somethin' Else, 1991); followed by World Music (DIW, 1992); Other Spheres (DIW, 1993); Trio (Sackville, 1995); a duet album with Harold Mabern called For Phineas (Sackville, 1996); and Turn Up the Quiet (Sony, 1997), which featured rising stars Diana Krall, Joshua Redman and Christian McBride. Keezer also appeared on many albums as a sideman.

From 2000 to 2009 Keezer performed on keyboards and piano in the Christian McBride Band. The band toured North America, Europe and Japan. Keezer contributed original compositions and arrangement. Concurrently, starting in 2002, Keezer joined saxophonist Tim Garland's Storms/Nocturnes project.[11] The band played throughout the United Kingdom, including at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London; the Hollywell Music Room in Oxford; the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester; and at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival. In 2004, Keezer traveled to Lima, Peru, to play with Maria Schneider. This visit to Peru would later provide the inspiration for his GRAMMY-nominated album Aurea.

The following year saw Keezer again touring the world, this time with saxophonist David Sanborn.[12] Then in 2007, Keezer began playing with Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Chris Botti, a relationship that continues to this day. That same year, Keezer received a grant from Chamber Music America to develop a new jazz work.[13] In 2009, Keezer joined the band of fellow Art Blakey alumnus Wayne Shorter, subbing for an injured Danilo Perez. Keezer played at the Playboy Jazz Festival and at festivals in Ottawa and Montreal as a member of the Wayne Shorter Quartet.[14]

His albums include the solo piano recording Zero One (Dreyfus, 2000), as well as Sublime: Honoring the Music of Hank Jones (Telarc, 2003), a series of duets with pianists Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Benny Green and Mulgrew Miller. Other albums include Falling Up (Maxjazz, 2003) with Hawaiian slack key guitarist Keola Beamer; Free Association (ArtistShare, 2005) with guitarist Jim Hall; Wildcrafted: Live at the Dakota (MaxJazz, 2005); Live in Seattle (Origin, 2006); an album with Okinawan singer Yasukatsu Oshima; a collaboration with electronica artist Mary Acheta called The Near Forever (2009); and Áurea (ArtistShare, 2009), which was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album.[2]

In 2010, Keezer was nominated for his second Grammy Award, for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s), for the track "Don't Explain" on Denise Donatelli's When Lights Are Low. From 2012 to 2013, Keezer played concerts in Hawaii and across North America as part of the "Malama Ko Aloha" tour featuring Hawaiian slack-key guitarist Keola Beamer and native American flute player R. Carlos Nakai.[15]

Recordings from this period include Mill Creek Road (SBE, 2011); Via (Origin, 2011) with Joe Locke on vibes and Tim Garland on saxophone; Signing (Motéma, 2012) also with Locke; and his latest solo piano recording, Heart of the Piano (Motéma, 2013).

Since 2016, Keezer has frequently performed with his wife, vocalist Gillian Margot.[4][16][17][18][19]

With Art Blakey

• Chippin' In (Timeless, 1990)
• One for All (A&M, 1990)

With Ray Brown

• Summertime: Ray Brown Trio with Ulf Wakenius (Telarc, 1997)[30]
• Christmas Songs with The Ray Brown Trio (Telarc, 1999)[31]
• Some of My Best Friends Are ... Piano Players (Telarc, 2000)[32]
• Some of My Best Friends Are ... Trumpet Players (Telarc, 2000)[33]
• Live At Starbucks (Telarc, 2001)
• Some of My Best Friends Are ... Singers (Telarc, 2002)[34]
• Some of My Best Friends Are ... Guitarists (Telarc, 2002)[35]
• Walk On: The Final Ray Brown Trio Recording, and Previously Unreleased Recordings (Telarc, 2003)[36]

With Art Farmer

• Soul Eyes (Enja, 1991)
• The Company I Keep (Arabesque, 1994) with Tom Harrell
• The Meaning of Art (Arabesque, 1995)
• Silk Road (Arabesque, 1997)

With Ricky Ford

• Hard Groovin' (Muse, 1989)

With Benny Golson

• Tenor Legacy (Arkadia Jazz, 1996 [1998])
• One Day, Forever (Arkadia Jazz, 1996 [2001])

With Christian McBride

• Vertical Vision (Warner Bros., 2002)

With Yasukatsu Oshima

• Yasukatsu Oshima with Geoffrey Keezer (Sony Japan, 2007)