BLUE JAY JAZZ FESTIVAL – An evening of jazz by the lake

Get ready for a fabulous evening of jazz by the lake, presented by the Blue Jay Jazz Foundation. On Thursday, Aug. 25, guests will enjoy the jazz stylings of the Lao Tizer Band, with the Speakeasy Jazz Band opening for them.

Hailing from Boulder, Colo., Lao Tizer’s career now spans nine albums over nearly a quarter of a century. He was a teenage prodigy – the son of hippies with a Russian-Jewish background.

The mix of that ethnic family heritage, parental new age influence and growing up with the sights and sounds of 80s and 90s pop culture (alongside the music of the 60s and 70s he heard from his parents) have brought him to a place in his artistic life where he was ready to embrace a wider range of influences and stretch himself and his players to pull off such an ambitious project – their latest album, Songs from the Swinghouse.

If the choice of Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On,” U2’s “Pride (In The Name Of Love)” and Cat Stevens’ “Sad Lisa” seem astonishing, Tizer’s arrangements render them almost entirely original.

Lao Tizer will be joined at the Blue Jay Jazz Festival on Aug. 25 by some of his regular collaborators: 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; Gene Coye on drums; Anthony Crawford on bass; Munyungo Jackson on percussion; and Maiya Sykes on vocals.

Speakeasy Jazz Band

The opening act will be the mountain’s own Speakeasy Jazz Band, which has been the house jazz band for The Tudor House for the past several years. Individually the members have performed worldwide from Beijing to Bangkok to London. The band includes Shannon Bizzy, vocals; Steve Alaniz, saxophone; Tom Fernandes, guitar; Baba Elefante, bass; and David Hitchings, drums.

This Thursday evening concert will take place at Tavern Bay Beach Club; gates will open at 5 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit bluejayjazz.org.