Geoffrey Keezer (website) is a young (six months younger than myself, so very young) but accomplished jazz pianist, having recorded a number of excellent albums as a leader, while also playing in support of Art Farmer, Wynton Marsalis, Diane Krall, Wayne Shorter, Art Blakey, Chris Botti, and many others. Keezer, like other young jazz pianists such as Brad Mehldau, Jason Moran, Aaron Choulai, Ethan Iverson (The Bad Plus), Marcin Wasilewski, Hiromi, and Robert Glasper (to name a few), draws freely and easily from the world of rock music. And folks in that world take notice, if this quote from Sting (from Keezer’s site) is any indication: “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.”
Keezer’s most recent album, Heart of the Piano, released this month, is a solo album featuring a mixture of original tunes and covers of songs by Peter Gabriel (“Come Talk To Me”), K.T. Tunstall (“Suddenly I See”), and Alanis Morissette (“Still”). But of most interest, I think, is the excellent and lively opening song/cover, “Limelight”, by a band that needs no introduction to Progarchy.com readers:
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