Keith Saunders Trio

Keith Saunders Trio performs at Keys Jazz Bistro. 

Pianist Keith Saunders’ formative years in jazz happened in Los Angeles, and then came a quarter century making up Keith’s New York years, notably centered around the New York HardBop Quintet, an outfit he co-led which had an eight year run, touring extensively and recording four cds, two of them with Rudy Van Gelder at the controls, one with the great Mickey Roker on the drums. When not with the quintet, he was working with top musicians including Richie Cole, Frank Wess and Hank Crawford. In his work, Keith pays deep homage to Bud Powell and flows on from there.

This week at Keys, Keith’s trio features John Wiitala-bass and Akira Tana-drums.