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"The format belongs to the Modern Jazz Quartet. The elegance injected with a spiritual groove belongs uniquely to the Joe Locke/Geoffrey Keezer Group." - Andrea Canter, Jazz Police  Joe Locke and Geoffrey Keezer The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society will present a performance by the Joe Locke/Geoffrey Keezer Group performance on Sunday, July 8th at 4:30 p.m. at the Douglas Beach House at 307 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay. The Joe Locke/Geoffrey Keezer Group have recently reunited and released a new CD: "Signing" [click here for a Jazz Police review ]. On vibraphone, Joe Locke is a worthy successor to past vibe masters Bobby Hutcherson and Milt Jackson. His releases over the past two decades, first as a sideman, then as leader, showcase his talent for playing with both lyrical beauty and incredible speed. Geoffrey Keezer was a piano prodigy who joined Art Blakey's famed Jazz Messengers at the tender age of 17. He has worked with virtually all of the living legends of jazz and has appeared on countless recordings both as a leader and as a side man. Geoffrey Keezer’s latest adventure, ÁUREA, is a groundbreaking recording of folkloric South American music mixed with Jazz, and was nominated for a 2009 GRAMMY award in the "Best Latin Jazz Album" category [click here for a Jazz Police review]. The Joe Locke/Geoffrey Keezer Group features Joe Locke on vibes, Geoffrey Keezer on piano, Mike Pope on bass, Terreon Gully on drums.
 Joe Locke
The critical community continually cites Joe Locke for his artistic work. "There seems little doubt that Locke, with his ability to play cool and funky, heady and relaxed, is set to become the pre-eminent vibraphonist in jazz." (The Times, London). He has been voted the #1 vibist in DownBeat Magazine's Critic's Poll (TDWR) and Brazil's International Jazz Poll, was honored with the "Mallet Player of the Year" Award by the Jazz Journalists Association (JJA) in 2006, and has received two Golden Ear "Concert of the Year" Awards — in 2005 with the Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group for their concert at the Ballard Jazz Festival, released on CD as "Live in Seattle" on the Origin Label, and 2007 for his performance at the Port Townsend Jazz Festival. Joe Locke has released more than 25 recordings as a band leader, and appeared on almost 100 albums as a guest artist.
Recent years have been increasingly busy for Locke. Besides his work with The Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group, The Joe Locke Quartet and his Duo project with fellow vibes and marimba artist Christos Rafalides, he most recently formed a brand new musical collaboration, "Joe Locke - Force of Four". The group — featuring Robert Rodriguez, Jonathan Blake and Ricardo Rodriguez — will be recording their first album in spring 2008 on the Origin label for a summer 2008 release, followed by international concert engagements. The Joe Locke Quartet, featuring Jay Anderson, Joe LaBarbera and Jonathan Kreisberg, have toured Europe successfully in 2007, receiving raving reviews and media acknowledgements following their release "Sticks and Strings". Joe's celebrated collaboration with Romero Lubambo, Nilson Matta and Duduka Da Fonseca has been selling out the most prestigious Jazz venues. They have just released "Live at JazzBaltica" on the MAXJAZZ label.
Another one of Locke's more recent recording "Rev.elation" with Milt Jackson's last Band remained on top of the Jazz Week album charts for an unprecedented 8 week run in 2005.
While maintaining a busy touring schedule, Locke also found time to work with students. A concert in Rochester, NY with the School of the Arts jazz ensemble (through The Commission Project) proved to be a memorable and rewarding experience. "I worked with the students for several weeks leading up to the concert, and real friendships were forged in that time. The name of the event was Pass it On! - the implication of the title being that I was passing on my knowledge and experience to a new generation of musicians. But it was such a mutual exchange... I learned as much from them as they did from me. The experience put me back in touch with one of the reasons I fell in love with music in the first place, namely, the sense of community that comes from creating something with others."
In 2008 Joe put together a unique new quartet by gathering the young talents and distinct musical personalities of Robert Rodriguez (piano), Johnathan Blake (drums) and Ricardo Rodriguez (bass), building this fresh sounding ensemble. The influences of New York, Cuba, Philadelphia and Puerto Rico, as well as the many places travelled by these four player/composers, come together in this group; their first recording, "Force of Four" (Origin) becoming an overwhelming success.
Joe Locke is a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music and has been International Vibraphone Consultant at the Royal Academy of Music, London, on a visiting basis since 2008.
 Geoffrey Keezer © Andrea Canter
His professional career has spanned many projects and genres. In 1992 Geoffrey performed Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue" with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra under the direction of John Mauceri. In addition to his 11 solo releases and constant touring, Geoffrey has also had compositions commissioned by the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, Saint Joseph Ballet, Mainly Mozart Festival in San Diego, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, the Zeltsman Marimba Festival, and was a recipient of Chamber Music America’s 2007 New Works grant. He has also played bass in a rock band and contributed artwork to David Mack's comic "Kabuki".
Geoffrey continues to work in partnership with world class musicians from all genres. His 1998 release, "Turn Up The Quiet", featured Grammy winning vocalist Diana Krall along with Joshua Redman and Christian McBride. His partnership with world renowned classical artist Barbara Hendricks as musical director and arranger produced "It’s Wonderful — A Tribute to George Gershwin" with subsequent touring in Europe and Japan. His two releases in 2003, "Falling Up" and "Sublime: Honoring the Music of Hank Jones", were both collaborative efforts. "Sublime" is an ambitious set of piano duets with Kenny Barron, Chick Corea, Benny Green and Mulgrew Miller. "Falling Up" features several pieces where Geoffrey worked in tandem with the Hawaiian Slack Key Guitarist, Keola Beamer. His 2005 release, "Wildcrafted", captures the fire and raw energy of Geoffrey’s trio live in concert at the Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis. And in 2006, Geoffrey teamed up with traditional Okinawan singer Yasukatsu Oshima for a groundbreaking album of duets.
The Douglas Beach House is located at 311 Mirada Road, Half Moon Bay, CA; 650-726-2020. $35 ticket; doors open at 3 pm. Visit www.bachddsoc.org for ticket purchases and other information. |
SF Bay Area 
Thursday, 23 May 2013
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