LAO TIZER FEATURING KAREN BRIGGS & CHIELI MINUCCI

Keyboardist and recording artist Lao Tizer captivates audiences of all ages and musical tastes.

Tizer has been proclaimed “an independent artist with all the right moves” and “a torchbearer for the new generation of contemporary jazz.”

He is a “Best New Jazz Artist” nominee; a Yamaha-endorsed pianist and keyboardist; has appeared at many premier venues including Universal Studios Hollywood, Disneyland, Pier 39 – Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco; and has graced the stage at events alongside artists including Isaac Hayes, Boney James, Zappa Plays Zappa, Wayne Shorter, George Benson, The Commodores, The Rippingtons, Bruce Hornsby, Jethro Tull and Spyro Gyra. In 2006, the Lao Tizer Band returned to the studio to record Diversify, Tizer’s first release for Yse Records In 2008, Tizer again broadened his horizons and assembled an all-star concert tour The Lao Tizer Band featuring Chieli Minucci and international violin virtuoso Karen Briggs.The band also comprises Steve Nieves (sax, percussion, and vocals), Jeff Kollman (guitar), Drew Megna (drums) and Andre Manga (bass).

Chieli Minucci is a contemporary jazz guitarist, composer, music producer and arranger.

Minucci was born in New York City and is primarily known as the leader of the Grammy-nominated contemporary jazz group Special EFX. Minucci has recorded and performed with top pop artists such as Celine Dion, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Lopez, Jewel, Mark Anthony, Jessica Simpson, Anastacia and others, as well as jazz artists Marion Meadows, Jay Beckenstein, Gerald Veasley, Lao Tizer, Nestor Torez and Bob Baldwin. He is also known as a composer for television and film and has won three Emmy Awards.

Karen Briggs is an American violinist.
Taking violin lessons from an early age, Briggs attended Norfolk State University after graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1981. There, she majored in music education and mass media. By 1983, she was playing with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, where she remained for the next four years. After marrying in 1988 and moving to Los Angeles, Briggs embarked on her first professional tour with Soul II Soul and toured throughout America and Japan. In 1991, Briggs auditioned for Yanni, the contemporary instrumental keyboard composer. She spent the next 13 years touring and recording with him. Briggs also made her Carnegie Hall debut in 1994, performing with pianist Dave Grusin. She has also performed with a number of other artists over the years including Stanley Clarke, the Wu Tang Clan, En Vogue and Chaka Khan, Wynton Marsalis, Benise, Marla Gibbs, Kenny Loggins, Ashley Maher, Taliesin Orchestra, and Diana Ross. Her career includes appearances in many TV/movie soundtracks as well as various other concerts (ranging from Carnegie Hall to Harlem's Apollo Theater) and TV shows.

Briggs has a natural ability to improvise in various styles of music, such as symphonic orchestra, Latin orchestra, R & B, gospel, jazz ensemble and even rap.

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