Piedmont Piano Company is pleased to present
Geoffrey Keezer & Taylor Eigsti
Two Pianos
TWO SHOWS - 8pm & 10pm
Grammy-nominated pianist Geoffrey Keezer and Grammy-nominated pianist Taylor Eigsti return to the piano store for their first-time collaboration.
10pm - $25 General Admission
8pm - $40 General Admission
With his highly regarded discography, unique compositions, and acclaimed performances in a variety of configurations, multiple GRAMMY®-nominated pianist Geoffrey Keezer commands the attention typically reserved for the living legends of jazz. A native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Keezer was playing in jazz clubs as a teenager, holding down the piano chair for Art Blakey at age 18, and touring in the company of Ray Brown, Joshua Redman, Diana Krall, Art Famer, Benny Golson and Barbara Hendricks in his 20s. More recently he has toured with Wayne Shorter, Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, Chris Botti, Sting, Joe Locke and Christian McBride; produced and arranged three GRAMMY®-nominated recordings with vocalist Denise Donatelli, and released a series of albums drawing influences from Hawaiian, Okinawan and Afro-Peruvian folk traditions. His 2009 album Áurea (ArtistShare) was nominated for a Best Latin Jazz Album GRAMMY® award. Geoffrey’s 2013 solo piano release, Heart of the Piano (Motema Records), seeks to redefine solo jazz piano as a personal and interactive showcase of melody, energy and groove, while his latest album On My Way to You (MarKeez Records 2018) is a stunning new set of music featuring his working trio with the addition of guest vocalist Gillian Margot.
Geoffrey’s compositions have been commissioned by the Mainly Mozart Festival, Art of Elán ensemble, Saint Joseph Ballet, Zeltsman Marimba Festival, Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra and Scottish National Jazz Orchestra. His music can be heard in the films What Happens in Vegas and Inhale, and in numerous TV shows including The Young and the Restless (CBS), Parks and Recreation (NBC), House of Lies(Showtime), and Casual (Hulu Original).
Time Magazine wrote, “Geoffrey has more than enough virtuosity and sheer musical wit and intelligence to weave all of his apparently disparate strands of influence into an original and compelling whole”, and pop icon Sting said “In the universe of piano players that I have been exposed to over the years, Geoffrey has proved himself to be not only a superb technician and improviser, but also above and beyond this, a composer and conceptualist who can maintain the overall line and the DNA of the song in everything he plays. A musician’s musician.” geoffreykeezer.com
New York-based pianist and composer Taylor Eigsti started playing the piano when he was four years old. Growing up in Menlo Park, CA, Eigsti was quickly labeled a prodigy, and has since released 7 albums as a bandleader, in addition to appearing on over 50 albums as a sideman. Eigsti has garnered multiple individual GRAMMY Award nominations over the years for his work as a recording artist and composer, including Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. Recently, Eigsti also co-wrote a featured composition with Don Cheadle for the 2017 GRAMMY-winning soundtrack to the motion picture Miles Ahead.
Over the past 30 years, Eigsti has had the good fortune of performing, touring or recording with such luminaries as Dave Brubeck, Chris Botti, Joshua Redman, Sting, John Mayer, Esperanza Spalding, Chick Corea, Terence Blanchard, Joshua Bell, Snarky Puppy, Vanessa Williams,David Benoit, Chris Potter, Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride, Julian Lage, Marian McPartland, Stefon Harris, McCoy Tyner, Lisa Fischer, Joey DeFrancesco, Red Holloway, James Moody, Ernestine Anderson, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Becca Stevens, Charles McPherson, The Clayton Brothers, Eldar, Dianne Schuur, Joe Lovano, Becca Stevens, Ambrose Akinmusire, Hank Jones, The Brubeck Brothers, and Frederica Von Stade, among many others.
Eigsti has travelled internationally quite extensively with his trio and quartet, and also has been a frequent and integral part of the regular touring bands of Chris Botti, Eric Harland Voyager, Gretchen Parlato, Kendrick Scott Oracle, and Sachal Vasandani. Eigsti's career has involved much global touring, and he has performed at many premiere venues throughout the world, including the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, Salle Pleyel, Red Rocks Amphitheater, Royal Festival Hall, Vienna Konzerthaus, Olympia Hall, Massey Hall, Lincoln Center, Davies Symphony Hall, and many top festivals including Montreal Jazz Festival, North Sea Jazz Festival, Singapore Mosaic Music Festival, Monterey Jazz Festival, Stockholm Jazz Festival, Istanbul Jazz Festival, Quito Jazz Festival, Jakarta Jazz Festival, Sydney Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Chicago Jazz Festival, Toronto Jazz Festival, and many more performances worldwide, including a private performance for former President Bill Clinton.
Eigsti has also been featured numerous times in various television specials, NPR appearances, commercials, and composed the theme music to the motion picture Detachment (2011) starring Oscar-winner Adrien Brody, collaborating on the score with the Newton Brothers. This past year, Eigsti was also featured on a television special with Chris Botti for PBS’s “Great Performances”.
In addition to leading and performing with various small ensembles, Eigsti frequently has had the opportunity to work with, compose for and orchestrate music for various symphony orchestras, and has written an extensive repertoire of music for orchestra and jazz ensemble. Various soloist and compositional features include the San José Chamber Orchestra, Oakland East Bay Symphony, New York Philharmonic, New York Pops, Chicago Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Buffalo Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic, Boston Youth Symphony, New York Pops, Pittsburgh Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, San Jose Youth Symphony, Bear Valley Symphony, Tassajara Symphony, Reno Philharmonic and multiple featured collaborations with the Peninsula Symphony Orchestra. tayjazz.com