# Andrea Keller

Andrea Keller (born 1973) is an Australian pianist and composer. She won three ARIA Award for Best Jazz Album with Thirteen Sketches, Mikrokosmos and Footprints and was nominated in 2013 for the album Family Portraits.

## Biography

Born to Czech parents in 1973, Keller grew up in Sydney, Australia.
Convinced from a young age that she would be a musician, she studied piano, flute and saxophone at Sydney's Conservatorium High School. Inspired by her older brother, she penned her first compositions at the age of 10, and received her Associate in Music diploma with distinction on piano at age 14. It was around this time that she was introduced to jazz music and the art of improvisation.
Continuing to explore classical, jazz and original musics throughout her teenage years, her musical path became more defined when she moved to Melbourne in 1993 to attend the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA).
Since 1996 Keller has been an active educator in Melbourne's tertiary jazz and improvisation departments, including the faculty of the VCA and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, University of Melbourne, Monash University and Melbourne Polytechnic (formerly NMIT). In 1999, Keller founded the Andrea Keller Quintet, which later became the Andrea Keller Quartet. She also co-founded the Bennetts Lane Big Band.She plays piano for the Australian Art Orchestra. Keller wrote her doctoral thesis at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music about the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.
In 2017 Keller was awarded the Merlyn Myer Music Commission from the Melbourne Recital Centre.

## Discography
### Albums

| Title | Details |
| Icedreaming (with Anita Hustas as Hustas-Keller) | Released: 2000 Label: Newmarket (NEW3070.2) |
| Thirteen Sketches (as The Andrea Keller Quintet) | Released: 2001 Label: Newmarket (NEW3081.2) |
| Mikrokosmos (arrangement of a selection from Mikrokosmos, with The Bartók Project) | Released: March 2002 Label: ABC Jazz (4766238) |
| Angels and Rascals (as Andrea Keller Quartet) | Released: 2005 Label: ABC Jazz (9828385) |
| Live at the Edge (with Tamara Murphy) | Released: August 2006 Label: ABC Jazz |
| Little Claps (as Andrea Keller Quartet) | Released: August 2007 Label: Jazzhead (HEAD083) |
| Footprints: The Wayne Shorter Project | Released: November 2007 Label: ABC |
| Hush Collection: A Castle for All | Released: February 2008 Label: Hush Music Foundation (HUSH 008) |
| Carried by the Sun (with Tamara Murphy, Allan Browne) | Released: 2008 Label: Jazzhead (HEAD072) |
| Galumphing 'Round the Nation (as Andrea Keller Quartet) | Released: June 2010 Label: Andrea Keller |
| Three Lanes (with Genevieve Lacey & Joe Talia) | Released: May 2012 Label: Andrea Keller (AK001) |
| Wave Rider (as Andrea Keller Quartet) | Released: November 2013 Label: Jazzhead (HEAD191) |
| Family Portraits | Released: November 2013 Label: Jazzhead (HEAD188) |
| Consider This (with Tim Wilson) | Released: 2015 Label: no label |
| Andrea Keller Quartet Greatest Hits (as Andrea Keller Quartet) | Released: April 2016 Label: Andrea Keller (AK002) |
| The Komeda Project (with Miroslav Bukovsky) | Released: 2016 Label: Andrea Keller (AK004) |
| Still Night: Music in Poetry | Released: November 2017 Label: Andrea Keller |
| Five Below Live | Released: July 2018 Label: Andrea Keller |
| Transients Volume 1 | Released: May 2019 Label: Andrea Keller |
| Transients Volume 2 | Released: November 2019 Label: Andrea Keller |
| Life is Brut[if]al (as Andrea Keller Five Below) | Released: June 2020 Label: Andrea Keller |
| Andrea Keller Curates Monday Nights Live at the Jazzlab – Volume 1 – The Composers' Circle (as The Composers Circle) | Released: August 2020 Label: Andrea Keller |
| Journey Home | Released: September 2020 Label: Andrea Keller |
| Andrea Keller Curates Monday Nights Live at the Jazzlab – Volume 2 – Meditations for 2 to 3 Players | Released: November 2020 Label: Andrea Keller |

## Awards and nominations
### AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2014 | Wave Rider (as Andrea Keller Quartet with Strings) | Best Independent Jazz Album Artist | Nominated |

### ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2002 | Thirteen Sketches | Best Jazz Album | Won |
| 2003 | Mikrokosmos | Best Jazz Album | Won |
| 2005 | Angels and Rascals (as Amanda Keller Quartet) | Best Jazz Album | Nominated |
| 2007 | Little Claps (as Amanda Keller Quartet) | Best Jazz Album | Nominated |
| 2008 | Footprints | Best Jazz Album | Won |
| 2013 | Portraits (as Amanda Keller Family) | Best Jazz Album | Nominated |
| 2014 | Wave Rider (with Quartet with Strings) | Best Jazz Album | Nominated |
| 2019 | Transients Vol. 1 | Best Jazz Album | Nominated |

### Australian Jazz Bell Awards

The Australian Jazz Bell Awards, (also known as the Bell Awards or The Bells), are annual music awards for the jazz music genre in Australia. They commenced in 2003.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2003 | Mikrokosmos – Andrea Keller | Best Australian Contemporary Jazz Album | Won |
| 2008 | Little Claps – Andrea Keller Quartet | Best Australian Contemporary Jazz Album | Won |
| 2012 | Andrea Keller Quartet | Best Australian Jazz Ensemble | Won |
| 2014 | Wave Rider – Andrea Keller Quartet | Best Australian Modern Jazz Album | Won |
| 2017 | Consider This – Andrea Keller and Tim Wilson Duo | Best Australian Instrumental Jazz Album | Won |
| 2018 | Still Night: Music in Poetry – Andrea Keller | Best Australian Jazz Vocal Album | Won |
| 2019 | Five Below Live – Andrea Keller | Best Australian Jazz Ensemble of the Year | Won |
* Note wins only

### Music Victoria Awards

The Music Victoria Awards, are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2005. (awards 2005-2012 are unknown).
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
| 2013 | Family Portraits | Best Jazz Album | Nominated |
| 2014 | Wave Rider (with Quartet with Strings) | Best Jazz Album | Nominated |
| 2019 | Transients Vol. 1 | Best Jazz Album | Won |
| 2020 | Life Is Brut[if]al | Best Jazz Album | Nominated |
| 2021 | herself | Outstanding Woman in Music | Nominated |
| 2021 | herself | Best Musician | Nominated |
| 2021 | herself | Best Jazz Act | Won |