Jazz on Fire
Pianist Lao Tizer is the son of hippies with a Russian-Jewish background. His family culture, combined with the sights and sounds of ’80s and ’90s pop culture in which he grew up, result in consistently energetic and sizzling performances.
With more than five years since their last release, The Lao Tizer Band has taken the time to grow in every aspect. An updated larger band is exploring some new methods on their brand-new CD/DVD combo, Songs From The Swinghouse. Recorded live in just three days at Conway Studios in Hollywood, the band explores three cover tunes with vocalist, Tita Hutchison, a first for the group, alongside original instrumental tracks, bringing them to new heights of excellence and exuberance.
Hutchison joins Tizer’s regular collaborators who are celebrated in their own right: Chieli Minucci, the three-time Emmy-winning and Grammy® Award-nominated guitarist and composer; Grammy® Award-winning saxophonist Eric Marienthal, who is a permanent member of the Chick Corea Elektric Band; longtime member and EWI/saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist Steve Nieves; and violinist Karen Briggs, who has graced the stage with Yanni, Diana Ross, Wu-Tang Clan, Chaka Khan and more. Tizer also credits the powerhouse rhythm section (bass players include Grammy® Award-nominee Ric Fierabracci and Cheikh NDoye, Grammy® Award-nominated drummer Gene Coye, and percussionist Munyungo Jackson) with underpinning the dynamic force and arrangements for the project.
Tizer praises each musician for his and her contribution to the whole. Conceptually focused while always generous as a composer, arranger, and band leader, Tizer produced Songs From The Swinghouse on his own and wrote all of the instrumental tracks himself, aside from one co-write, “A Prayer For Unity” with the band’s other guitarist, Jeff Marshall. They wrote it just after the terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015, and the significance at this particular time amid current events is imperative for Tizer. “It’s a message that the world needs on a much more macro level, and music is one of those few mediums that can bridge some gaps.”
