Yes, there is a local jazz scene, and there are local jazz artists for the Thousand Oaks area. In other words, the musical culture here does not only consist of tributes to Neil Diamond, Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac.
One of the most popular and busy home bred bands, led by keyboardist Lao Tizer, took time off from the LA and Ventura club scene to deliver a festive outdoor jazz feast, getting the laid back suburbanites a reason to get up on their feet and dance, or at least shake a bit.
Tizer brought in a rollicking team of local gents Danny Janklow/as-fl, Gene Coye/dr as well as Memphis bred Antony Crawford/b and Miles Davis alumnus Munyngo Jackson/perc to feature music from their brand new album Amplify. The set opened with the rhythm team l eading a soulful groove on “Carousel” that had Janklow bopping and hopping on the alto, before later linking into a hip unison line with Crawford on a bluesy “16th Heaven” that simmered on an Afro Cuban direction.
Switching between keyboards and organ, Tizer and company mixed tight and swinging arrangement with some freewheeling adventures, as the leader laid down a Latin mood for Janklow’s flute on “The Labyrinth” while getting down on it for a sweaty alto on “Kat’s Groove”.
Adding to the mix was vocalist Elliot Yamin, who’s rich American Idol’d voice took a stroll on a Soul Train mood around Crawford’s bass on “Boulevard of Stars” and mixed romance with a funky undercurrent on “Shades of Love”.
But remembering that the word “jazz” is a verb, Tizer brought in some creative reads of popular tunes as well. Playing organ, his New Orleansy take of U2’s “(Pride) In The Name Of Love” had Yamin deliver some blue-eyed soul, while a hoot of a read of Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On” got the audience boogie-ing to the heavy metal anthem.
Closing with their current single “Down” and encoring with a rollicking “New Orleans”, Lao Tizer showed that there is still new music to be played that is fresh, creative and exciting. Maybe someone will do a tribute to them in 20 years!
Upcoming shows sponsored by BAPAC include Adrian & Meredith 06/14, My Son the Hurricane 06/15 and Changui Majadero 06/22