Illustration from Public Domain Pictures
The Lao Tizer Band will headline the 14th annual Silver Spring Jazz Festival Sept. 9 on Veterans Plaza.
Keyboardist/composer Tizer leads an 11-piece band and his music has drawn comparisons to jazz fusion giants such as Return To Forever, the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report.
The full band’s first album, “Downbeat,” is described as “an explosive mix of jazz, rock, classical, jam band influences and Afro-Cuban and world rhythms.”
The Lao Tizer Band is scheduled to perform from 8:30-10 p.m.
The festival will start with a welcome at 3 p.m. followed by a performance by the Jazz Academy of Music.
At 4:30 p.m., The Sharp Radway Quintet will play, followed by The Chembo Corniel Quintet at 5:45 p.m.
Silver Spring native Marcus Johnson rounds out the performers, taking the stage at 7 p.m. with his Urban Jam Band.
The festival is free, as is public parking, though attendees are encouraged to take Metro. Concertgoers can patronize nearby restaurants or bring a picnic. Blankets and lawn chairs are encouraged, but no alcohol is allowed.
The festival will be cancelled in the event of rain.