LAO TIZER

“A robust mix of originals and covers that incorporates grooves from across the musical spectrum!” — JAZZIZ

“On the song (The Source), the pianist leads his 10-piece ensemble through a funky original brimming with unison lines and a pretty sizable break of solos…”  — DownBeat

“Keyboardist Lao Tizer fronts an 11-member band that is filled with swinging funk, not dissimilar to vintage Tower of Power and AWB.” — Jazz Weekly

“They’re the missing link between The Dave Matthews Band and Snarky Puppy we never knew existed.” — Bakersfield Californian

“Songs From The Swinghouse is an enthralling listen.” — 5 Finger Review

“The disc and video show the world-class musicians at the top of their game as well as spotlighting the compositional integrity and musicality of bandleader Lao Tizer.” — Sounds of Timeless Jazz

“Rare musicianship from a team of modern masters.” - The Royal Gazette

“TIZER is a high-powered bunch of star musicians that plays mostly highly melodic, catchy, emotionally intense music that Lao writes. It’s built to be flexible enough to adapt to today’s musical economics..”  -Long Beach Star Telegram

“TIZER’s music is pure joy..” — Omaha World Herald

“Lao Tizer has been knocking on Playboy Jazz Festivals door for years, and it’s finally opened up.  The 31 year-old world-jazz fusion keyboardist will perform Sunday during the free Playboy Jazz in Warner Center Park Concert in Woodland Hills…” — LA Daily News
 
“TIZER functions on high-octane playing with long improvisational passages and intricately crafted motifs and counterpoint…  For excitement, there were plenty of moments of intersecting ideas…” 

— JazzTimes 

“TIZER’s 45-minute performance was a blast @ Lou Bredlow Pavilion for hundreds for hundreds of people of all ages sprawled out on the grass…” –WineandJazz.com review of Playboy Jazz Festival kickoff Concert

“TIZER shifts gears more often than a race car as they zip through jazz, rock, world and pop music..” — Toledo Blade

“TIZER, combines Lao’s talents with jazz guitarist and composer Chieli Minucci and violin virtuoso Karen Briggs at Clearwater Jazz Saturday night…”  — St. Petersburg Times

“Tizer and his band opened the East Main Stage on Tuesday at Common Ground. Watching the band, it's easy to imagine that even if the power had cut out mid set, Tizer who would still be pounding passion into the keys, wild eyes and facial expressions responding note-by-note. The band, featuring Tizer on keyboard, Andre Manga going heavy on slap-bass, and percussionist Steve Nieves throwing in an occasional Latin sound beat on the hand-drums, was consistently funky.”
— Lansing City Pulse review of Common Ground Festival

Lao Tizer is a brilliant keyboardist and composer whose seamless blend of hard and soulful grooves, spirited improvisations and extreme sense of melody puts him in the same league with the more celebrated smooth jazz player Brian Culbertson…”
— Music Connection

“After reviewing his CD, Diversify…I came away saying this man is a master….”
— Baltimore Sun

“…This was an odd numbered year and it was beautiful and sleeveless shirt warm for the Friday evening concert at Metropolitan Park.  People were starting to wander in and settle in for the evening when Lao Tizer started his set.  Nobody at my table had ever heard him.  I told them they would want all his CDs by the end of his set and they did.  Tizer is one of the new generation of instrumentalists who can't really be categorized.  It's a mixture of pop-rock, world beat, and contemporary jazz with some jam band sensibility thrown in.  Tizer is a powerful player who can shift effortlessly from power chords and funky riffs to lyrical ballads… The set was full of guitar and drum solos, percussion jams, and hook-heavy songs that had the crowd on their feet.  With all the talk about artists who can bridge the generation gap and bring a younger vibe to the genre Lao Tizer and his band…should be mentioned more often as one of the acts that is on the front lines of this movement.”
— Smooth Views review of Jacksonville Jazz Festival  
 
“…Lao Tizer's Diversify is an example of tasteful commercialism. No one will mistake this crossover jazz/fusion offering for straight-ahead bop, but Tizer's blend of jazz and pop -- for all its accessibility -- has substance… Although Tizer maintains a strong sense of groove, Diversify has more meat on its bones than 95-percent of the stuff that stations are playing these days…Diversify is well worth hearing if one is looking for commercial pop-jazz that has a brain.”
— All Music Guide

“Here’s an album that clearly has a statement to make… Lao Tizer et al. are obviously on a mission to convince listeners that good, original contemporary jazz can be delivered with such snap and class so as to make it virtually impossible to pass up… I and anyone listening to this splendid work would be remiss if no mention was made of the infectious piano work from Tizer… The tunes just keep coming in all sorts of delightful arrangements, and all are identifiable as just plain good contemporary jazz performed by artists who know their stuff…” 
— Jazz Review

“Keyboardist Lao Tizer took the crowd on an inspiring musical journey… You will be hearing a lot about and from this talented young man in the future.”
— Smooth Vibes review of Gardena Jazz Festival

“After way too many years in the shadows of more popular smooth jazz performers, Tizer makes a case for becoming one of the genre’s headliners with Diversify, a multi-faceted project that displays his talent for everything from in the pocket funk to exotic fusion and ballads that stay in the heart.”
— Jazz Monthly