Geoff Keezer: Zero One

Geoff Keezer was the last pianist in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, performing between 1988 and 1990. At age 17 he showed himself a capable hard bop pianist whose performance personality echoes that of Horace Silver, Bobby Timmons, and more recently, Benny Green. Since the demise of Blakey, Keezer has logged time for Sunnyside, Blue Note, DIW/Columbia and Sackville as a leader and accompanied the likes of Art Farmer, Roy Hargrove, Antonio Hart, and Ray Brown. Keezer shows up here with the solo piano offering, Zero One.

This is not the typical collection of standards and original compositions. Nor is this strictly a Hard Bop tome. Keezer swings out to the creative stratosphere with playing that approximates an impressionistic/expressionistic axis that approaches Ravel and Debussy closer than Oscar Peterson or Junior Mance. Whether it is his introverted "These Three Words" or extroverted "Maple Sugar Rays," this disc is something special. Keezer blends mood-using sampling giving his piano the power to mimic percussion, string instruments, and reeds. "Sleep Flying" uses these effects to a great effect, showing Keezer to be an important voice in the jazz piano village.