While hinting at a fantasy blend of Bud Powell, Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock, and McCoy Tyner, Keezer has evolved a singular style of intellectually abstract lyricism woven over exotically complex rhythms and harmonies. Still in his early 30s, his highly regarded discography, unique compositions, and acclaimed performances in a variety of configurations command the attention typically reserved for the living legends of jazz.

The Eau Claire, Wisconsin child prodigy grew up surrounded by musicians and music educators (father Ron Keezer headed the jazz band program at UW-EC), and first performed at the Dakota when he was only 16, three years before his stint with Art Blakey's last edition of the Jazz Messengers. He has since returned often and in the company of such heavy hitters as the late Ray Brown and Christian McBride. On this night, he harnessed the energy and virtuosity of two rising comets on the jazz sky, acoustic bassist Matt Clohesy and drummer Terreon Gulley. Both Clohesy and Gulley have recently appeared in the Twin Cities, Gulley with Stefon Harris at the Dakota and Clohesy with Jon Weber's Quintet at the Hot Summer Jazz Festival.

That a major label such as MaxJazz chose the Dakota for a live recording of an established performer like Keezer is a coup for owners Lowell Pickett and Richard Erickson, but hardly far fetched, given the acoustics, the hometown crowd, and the club's reputation as a magnet for the best in the genre. If anything, this venue is overdue for a series of "Live" releases. Keezer, too, was due for a live recording, 11 years following his only other in vivo effort, at Toronto's Montreal Bistro (Trio, Sackville, with vibist Steve Nelson and bassist Neil Swainson).

Of all of his live and recorded groupings, this new trio may prove to be Keezer's most empathetic partners. As an ensemble, they create a multi-layered sonic feast, a rich stew that simmers, hits a rolling boil, steeps and steams, or slowly bubbles as the creative flame directs the heat. Gulley is one of the most dynamically versatile drummers of a generation packed with virtuoso timekeepers (Matt Wilson, Nasheet Waits, Eric Harland, Ari Honig, Brian Blade--it's a long list!). Equally effective with sticks, mallets, or brushes, he creates shimmering backdrops, well-placed cherry bombs, rumbling echoes, and clattering rimshots, whether weaving a heavily textured netting around the melody or blowing holes in the improvisational fabric, all with the drive of the Energizer Bunny. Australian native Clohesy has a big tone and frenetic fingers, easily matching Gulley's fire and durability, whether walking, running, or fleetly popping.

The set lists offered a combination of new compositions and tunes from previous recordings, the latter providing an opportunity to briefly examine the evolution of Keezer's work. Ellington's "Black and Tan Fantasy" is a favorite, first recorded in trio format on the 1992 release World Music (DIW Columbia) and later on the much-praised solo release, Zero One (Dreyfus, 1999). On the earlier recording, the piano was front and center, with more swing, more spacious allegiance to Tatum and Peterson--more true to Ellington's early recordings; the solo effort reflects Keezer's evolving development of more complex lines and harmonies, more substantial filling of space, with the effect of multiple voices despite the solo instrument, and more reminiscent of Powell and Tyner. Live at the Dakota, in the first run through "Black and Tan," the opening bassline is indeed the bassist's line and the piano serves as but one of three crucial elements. The mew trio arrangement maintains the underlying blues elements, but with more abstract embellishments a decade later, Keezer filling very nook and crannie as he carries the melody with the left hand and fills space with the right. Clohesy's bass solo is a heavy-footed walking and note-bending interlude, while Gulley rips the air with his solo attack. A second effort in the last set ("because it's fun to play" and maybe because the sound engineer wanted another take) offered more fill accents from the bass and waves of short bursts from the drum kit rather than an extended solo. The second take reigned in the energy, more like Keezer's solo rendition on Zero One. Overall, the merging of blues, stride, and post bop abstraction made "Black and Tan Fantasy" one of the more engaging acts of session, and indeed, it seemed "fun to play."