Ridah Omri presents An Evening with Bryan Pezzone, pianist

Ridah Omri (formerly, the Jazz Hall) presents Bryan Pezzone, consummate crossover pianist, at the Yellow House Concerts, Friday May 20th, 7pm.

Bryan Pezzone, Los Angeles' most versatile pianist joins us on Friday May 20th at 7pm for an eclectic 90-minute "movie-length" concert. Bryan Pezzone, the pianist for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Disney Hall, blends his passion for improvisation with his passion for the excitement of a live performance.

He'll play everything from Chopin & da Silva Nocturnes, Schubert to his own compositions and improvisations, Latin jazz to his own "Mozart Club Sandwich", and even his latest recording of "Swinging by Depression" (an improvisation of depression era songs "Ain't Misbehavin'", "Honeysuckle Rose" and "If I Could Be With You." But, you never know what's going to happen in one of Mr. Pezzone's concerts. So come and be delighted!

Tickets: $25. A "meet the artist" reception follows the performance.

About Bryan Pezzone:

Bryan Pezzone is the consummate cross-over pianist of his generation. He excels in classical, contemporary, jazz, and experimental genres and is well known for his versatility and virtuosity as a recording and performing artist, improviser and composer.

He performs with many major symphony orchestra associations, tours widely with the jazz group Free Flight, and is known in the Los Angeles area as a primary free-lance pianist for film and television soundtrack recording, contemporary music premieres, and chamber music. Bryan is the pianist on most all of the cartoons released by Warner Brothers and Disney, he was the principal pianist with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra from its inception in 1991 through 1999, and received a rare on-screen credit for his performance on the soundtrack of "The Game" starring Michael Douglas. His workshops on his comprehensive approach to improvisation are frequently requested and he is a consulting editor for the well-known publication "Piano and Keyboard."

As a soloist, Bryan has performed with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Pasadena Pops, Santa Monica Symphony, Santa Clarita Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, United States International University Orchestra, U.C. Irvine Symphony Orchestra, Eastman Philharmonic and the Pacific Symphony.

Bryan has also been invited to perform solo keyboard concerts that blend traditional concert repertoire, improvisations and original works using the Yamaha Midi Grand by Willamette University for it's Distinguished Artist Series, the University of Miami, Rice University and in many Southern California appearances including the California Institute of the Arts where he created the multi-focused keyboard program and served on the piano faculty from 1987 to 1999. Bryan is responsible for most of Yamaha's Disklavier Piano Series with solo titles as disparate as "The Best of Elton John", "Cinema Love Songs", and "Debussy Piano Works".

Since beginning his career in Los Angeles in 1987, Bryan has worked with many of the premiere contemporary music conductors; Pierre Boulez, Oliver Knussen, John Adams, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kent Nagano and John Williams. He is featured in collaborations on a vast number of professionally released recordings, and has been involved with nearly every major festival, series, and performing arts organization, including: Regular appearances on Sundays at Four (broadcast live on KUSC FM 91.5), Monday Evening Concerts, the Green Umbrella Series with both the Cal Arts New Century Players and the Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, the Ojai Festival, Joeffrey Ballet - soloist in Stravinsky's "Les Noces", Southwest Chamber Music Series and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Bryan received his Bachelor of Music from the Eastman School of Music in 1984 where he was awarded the Performers Certificate and won the concerto competition. He was invited to the Tanglewood Music Center two successive summers as a full scholarship fellow in 1983 and 1984 where he received the C.D. Jackson Master Award. He attended the Banff Centre during its winter term on scholarship from 1984-1985 as an alternative to graduate studies in order to have the necessary time to freely blend various aesthetics and diverse performance traditions into a unique approach.

This passion remains the focus of his work and continues to evolve in Bryan's own concerts called "Freedom Series" an eclectic blend of Bryan's compositions and improvisations mixed with personal musings on life and inspiration. Bryan's unique approach is a hybrid genre that is meant to both affect his audience emotionally through music as well as provide a gateway for more inspired living and attention to imagination long after the music has ended.

Bryan's recordings include the chamber works of John Briggs, "Settings" by Mel Powell, works of John Harbison and John Cage, oboe soloist Allan Vogel (Delos), trombonist William Booth and many more vocalists and instrumentalists. Bryan's own CDs include "Flying on Water" produced by Steve Wight and featuring M.B. Gordy on drums and Bart Samolis on bass, "Towards" produced by Prescriptive Music, "Intimate Themes and Interludes", and "Piano Prayers "blending jazz and classical styles with Bryan's own improvisations.

For tickets:
http://yellowhouseconcerts.ticketleap.com/an-evening-with-bryan-pezzone-pianist/