Geoffrey Keezer Trio with Yasushi Nakamura and Billy Kilson

Geoffrey Keezer brings his piano trio to Birdland with Yasushi Nakamura on bass and Billy Kilson on drums. The set places Keezer’s piano writing and improvising in a lean piano, bass and drums setting, with two seasoned partners shaping the rhythm section. It is a chance to hear a major New York jazz pianist in the trio format at Birdland, where the focus stays on the interplay among the three musicians.

A native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Keezer has been based in New York City and a major presence on its jazz-piano scene since joining Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in 1989 as Blakey’s last pianist. The GRAMMY-winning pianist and composer has toured and recorded with Ray Brown, Roy Hargrove, Joshua Redman, Diana Krall, Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, Sting and Christian McBride, among many others. Time called his work an “original and compelling whole,” citing the virtuosity, musical wit and intelligence with which he joins disparate influences. Reviewing Keezer’s Live at Birdland, Jazz Journal described the trio sound as “big, fully-integrated,” with bass and drums “structural rather than diverting.” A review of a Keezer trio featuring Kilson found the group “could not have been tighter” and “a band of equals.”