Geoffrey Keezer was a child of musical parents. He was born in Eau Claire (Wisconsin), USA, on November 20, 1970. He was born into a musical family with his parents playing piano. Geoffrey joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in 1989 at the age of 18. Geoffrey has been a part of almost all the jazz legends since then and has been on numerous recordings as both a leader or as an accompanist. His professional career spans many genres and projects. Geoffrey performed Gershwin’s “Rhapsody In Blue” with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, under John Mauceri’s direction in 1992. Geoffrey’s 11 solo albums and constant touring have been supplemented by compositions from the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band and Saint Joseph Ballet. He was also a recipient the 2007 Chamber Music America New Works grant. He also contributed artwork to David Mack’s comic “Kabuki” and played bass in a rock group. Geoffrey continues to collaborate with top musicians of all genres. His 1998 album, “Turn Up The Quiet”, featured Grammy-winning vocalist Diana Krall and Joshua Redman. Christian McBride was also on the record. He collaborated with Barbara Hendricks, a world-renowned classical artist, to produce “It’s Wonderful – A Tribute To George Gershwin”. The album was then released with further touring in Europe and Japan. Both his 2003 releases, “Falling Up”, and “Sublime”: Honoring Hank Jones’ Music, were collaborative efforts. “Sublime” features a collection of piano duets featuring Kenny Barron and Chick Corea as well as Mulgrew Miller. “Falling Up,” features many pieces Geoffrey performed with Hawaiian Slack Key guitarist, Keola Beeamer. His 2005 album, “Wildcrafted”, captures Geoffrey’s raw energy and fire live at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. In 2006, Geoffrey collaborated with Yasukatsu Oshima, a traditional Okinawan singer, to record a unique album of duets. Geoffrey’s latest musical venture, AUREA is a multi-national South American folkloric/jazz recording company featuring some of the most renowned players from New York City, Lima, Peru. Please visit www.geoffreykeezer.com for more information. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
