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Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group

In a career moving from one milestone to the next with accelerating regularity, the past decade has represented particularly extraordinary artistic growth for vibraphonist Joe Locke as a composer and leader. Beginning in 2001 with the Storms/Nocturnes Trio collaboration with Geoffrey Keezer and Tim Garland, and moving forward with projects under his own leadership – ranging from the Four Walls of Freedom group and Milt Jackson Tribute Band to the more recent Force of Four – Locke's deep understanding of the jazz tradition, married with a profound and unrelenting modernism, has established him as the most multi-dimensional vibraphonist of his generation, and also as one of the most imaginative, lyrical and emotionally arresting leader/composers in today’s jazz arena.

With the release of the Joe Locke /Geoffrey Keezer group’s Signing, the much in demand follow-up to their Live in Seattle ( Earshot Awards’ ‘Best live performance of 2006’), Locke's career is set to kick into yet a higher gear as he simultaneously forges a new relationship with the forward-thinking Motéma imprint. The award-winning artist and the award-winning label plan a strategic collaboration in the coming year and a half to release a series of three Locke projects, each designed to demonstrate a different facet of his unerring lyricism, unfettered imagination, and show-stopping virtuosity. “

Signing, a powerful studio follow-up to the highly acclaimed Live in Seattle, is Locke’s quintessential choice to kick-start his new relationship with Motéma. "I had a lot of different projects fleshed out in my mind, but I knew The Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group had to be first out of the block because I feel that what we do really defines who I am musically" explains Locke. "I love doing all kinds of other things, but with The Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group I feel like there are no qualifications; if I could be doing anything it would be this."

After successfully touring in support of Live in Seattle, the foursome of Locke, pianist/keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer (Art Blakey, Wayne Shorter, Jim Hall, Christian McBride), bassist Mike Pope (David Sanborn, Chick Corea) and drummer Terreon "Tank" Gully (Dianne Reeves, Christian McBride, Kurt Elling) went on to other artistic projects but, as the vibraphonist explains, "I'd always had it in the back of my mind that we needed to continue Locke/Keezer and do Chapter Two."

Signing finds the reunited group more mature, both individually and collectively, without losing any of the incendiary chemistry that defined its debut. "We haven’t played in a long time," says Gully, "but it speaks to the band's chemistry that the tracks on the record are almost exclusively first takes." Keezer agrees: "It felt like the band had been on tour for six months." Locke adds, "We didn’t rehearse because we all live in different cities, so we just came in, talked the tunes down in a cogent and coherent way, and recorded them. Signing has that same 'this is a brand new experience' kind of immediacy; even though it's not a live record it has some of that energy because we were all in this 'Ok, here comes the unknown' space. We just went with it, and got the vibe straight away."

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3
Live Review

The Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group, Half Moon Bay, CA, July 8, 2012

Read "The Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group, Half Moon Bay, CA, July 8, 2012" reviewed by Bill Leikam


Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer GroupDouglas Beach HouseHalf Moon Bay, CaliforniaJuly 8, 2012Vibraphonist Joe Locke and keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer have both played the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society at the Douglas Beach House before Sunday July 8th, 2012, but with this appearance of the Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group, the pair brought a fresh power to the venue, the likes of which may not be topped by any gathering of musicians in the near ...

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Album Review

Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group: Signing

Read "Signing" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Signing is only the second release from the co-led Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group, but both men have traveled plenty of musical miles together, both on record and on stage. They've worked in trio with reed man Tim Garland under the Storms/Nocturnes moniker, produced compelling music for the Japanese marketplace using the New Sound Quartet name and filled venues across the globe to capacity when they take the bandstand together. While six years separate their debut--Live In Seattle (Origin, ...

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Extended Analysis

Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group: Live in Seattle

Read "Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group: Live in Seattle" reviewed by Jason West


Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer GroupLive in SeattleOrigin Records2006 As can be the case on special occasions, this live recording is ripe with sonic excitement, spontaneity, and the ubiquitous impression that something extraordinary is happening right before one's ears.That undoubtedly was the feeling of those who filled the Mars Hill Church on November 19, 2005 for the third annual Ballard Jazz Festival's headline concert. The wow factor, in full ...

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Album Review

Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group: Live in Seattle

Read "Live in Seattle" reviewed by John Kelman


Vibraphonist Joe Locke and keyboardist Geoffrey Keezer have been working together for some time as the New Sound Quartet, which has released two discs in Japan. But while that group--clearly the precursor to this quartet--focused out of necessity on a primarily standards-based repertoire, Live in Seattle provides a far better and more accurate representation of its potential. Featuring three songs each by Locke and Keezer, it's also further evidence that Locke--along with Stefon Harris and Steve Nelson--is one of the ...

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"The music that Locke and Keezer create can be alternately potent and powerful or peaceful and poetic, but it's never less than enthralling." --All About Jazz

"The elegance injected with a spiritual groove belongs uniquely to the Joe Locke / Geoffrey Keezer Group." --Jazz Police

"Locke/Keezer Group is lush and hot-blooded. What the two ensembles share is the magical, complementary sonorities of the vibes/piano blend. The members of Locke/Keezer...nailed Signing.." --JazzTimes

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Signing

Motéma Music
2012

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Live in Seattle

Origin Records
2006

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Joe Locke / Geoffrey...

Origin Records
2006

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Videos

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