Keith Vreeland
Pianist, keyboardist and composer Keith Vreeland has been active in the Michigan jazz community for many years. After moving to the Detroit area in the early 1960’s, be began playing in the Detroit jazz clubs with his own jazz trio. During the 1970’s he worked with a variety of local jazz artists, including Larry Nozero, Ron English, Marcus Belgrave, Phil Ranelin, Phil Lasley, Steve Wood and the Austin-Moro Big Band. He performed and recorded with various collective jazz groups, including Sphere, NuArt Quintet, Tribe, Small Change, Inside Out, the Lincoln Street Music Company and the Detroit Creative Artists Collective. During the 1970’s and 80’s, as a member of the Michigan Jazz Artists on Tour and the Paradise Orchestra, he appeared throughout the state. His playing from this period can be heard on A Message From the Tribe with Wendell Harrison, The Time is Now with Phil Ranelin, and Sphere: Inside Ourselves, featuring Larry Nozero.
He has performed with Rahsan Roland Kirk, Pharoah Sanders, Badal Roy and Joe Henderson. He has appeared at numerous Michigan jazz festivals, including the Flint Jazz Festival, the Frog Island Blues and Jazz Festival and the Detroit Montreaux Jazz Festival, performing with the Tom Brown Quintet, the Jim Stefanson Latin Jazz Combine and the avante-garde group Synchron.
In 1989 he released his album Synesthesia, with co-leader Marvin Kahn. This recording features electronic and acoustic music composed and performed by Vreeland and Kahn. In 1997 Vreeland and Kahn released Forget the Fortune, Eat the Cookie and in 2001, sponsored by a grant from the Michigan Council of the Arts, they composed, performed and recorded Legacy, a Musical Tribute to the Michigan Legacy Art Park. Also in 2001, the Lincoln Street Music Company released Inner Beckoning, a live recording from the 1983 Depot Town Jazz Festival.
In 2006 Keith released a trio album entitled Ask Me Now, produced by Tree Studios. This CD features Keith on piano, John Dana on bass and Renell Gonsalves on drums, playing some of their favorite jazz compositions.
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