Keith PRICE

Keith Price is a Canadian-born guitarist/composer now based in Auckland (NZ) where he serves as a Lecturer in Jazz at Auckland University. He first learned chords from his Grandfather on a dark-red hollow-bodied guitar, but after hearing the intensity and rawness of John Coltrane at the age of fifteen, he was irrevocably drawn into the world of jazz.

Keith studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and the University of Manitoba before completing undergraduate and graduate degrees in jazz at Brandon University, where he studied with internationally recognized pianist and composer, Michael Cain. His omnivorous listening habits are the foundation of his expressive musical style, which combines old jazz, new jazz, folk, noise, and funk. His sound is a mixture of colours, textures, and flavours from a range of genres and influences, filtered on stage through the process of improvisation. Whether performing with a double-quartet, a trio, or as a solo guitarist, Keith’s musical focus is on openness, imagination, and the search for a shared connection with fellow musicians and audiences alike.

‘The notes and chords he uses weaves a dream-like atmosphere … he doesn’t seem to be afraid of silence, and he knows how to use space, the result being that the atmosphere [remains] even though he doesn’t play constantly.’ –TicketMOMster

Keith has released seven albums; Trio Antipodes: Upside Downwards (2019), Double Quartet (2017), Live at 101.5 UMFM (2015), The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (2015), Solo Guitar (2013), Gaia/Goya (2011), and Breakfast of Champions (2009). Performance highlights include: The Montreal International Jazz Festival; CBC Canada Live; The Yardbird Suite (Edmonton); The Rainbow Trout Music Festival; Jazz on the Rooftop at the Winnipeg Art Gallery; and he has had the honour and pleasure of opening shows for Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, and The Bad Plus.