If Colorado-bred, L.A.-based keyboardist Lao Tizer embodies the boundaryless modern musician, he comes by it honestly. As the self-described “child of East Coast Jewish hippies”, his parents’ wide-ranging musical tastes influenced him from an early age, steeping his ears in classical, rock, soul, and world music. But it wasn’t until the age of 16 that hearing Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue and Miles & Quincy Live at Montreux turned the budding pianist toward a new and lasting musical fascination–jazz.
Inspired, Tizer applied his classical piano skills to jazz and quickly released his first selfproduced solo albums while still in high school. After graduating, Tizer moved to L.A. and studied with legendary piano guru Terry Trotter for about two years, forgoing formal music education.
Through a combination of Trotter and, as Tizer calls it, “getting my ass kicked on the bandstand,” the keyboardist learned quickly, forming The Lao Tizer Band in short order. The LTB has gone on to produce six well-received albums while attracting an impressive roster of Alist players to its ranks, performing around the world to a growing fanbase. Most recently, Tizer took a bold leap into crossover territory with 2018’s acclaimed Songs From The Swinghouse, with a mix of re-envisioned vocal covers and trademark instrumental sophistication.
Now, Tizer and company’s forthcoming release, AMPLIFY, ups the ante with the addition of platinum-certified, American Idol vocal phenom Elliott Yamin to the band. With an intoxicating blend of soulful original songs and infectious, groove-laden instrumentals, Amplify is poised to appeal to an even wider audience–and open up a whole lot of ears