Piedmont Piano Company is pleased to present
Dan Zemelman + Kai Lyons Duo
with special surprise guest
Dan and Kai have been playing as a piano/guitar duo for the past year and have crafted a wonderful musical connection together. With a deeply shared vocabulary and style it often sounds as if they were made to play with each other. It is impressive to hear them together as a unit playing both simple and complex harmonies and rhythms. The joy and richness of Dan and Kai's musicality creates an amazing atmosphere to witness. You will be delighted by the interpretations of standards, original music, and pop selections.
$25 General Admission
Dan Zemelman is a leader and innovator of jazz music in the San Francisco bay area scene. In 1998 Dan participated in the Kennedy Center’s prestigious Jazz Ambassadors program and toured India and Sri Lanka sponsored by the US State Department, representing America’s jazz tradition through teaching and performances. After moving from Chicago to the San Francisco area in 2001, Dan contributed to blues legend John Lee Hooker’s final studio album Face to Face and toured with daughter and blues vocalist, Zakiya Hooker. Dan studied under the tutilege of legendary jazz bassist Richard Davis at the University of Wisconsin and along with winning an award there as Best Jazz Artist in 1998.
In recent times Dan has been performing with acclaimed bassist Jeff Denson and his quartet featuring alto sax jazz legend Lee Konitz. The group released a CD in February, 2015 and did a tour in Europe in October, 2015. This summer, the Jeff Denson Quartet will release another CD, this time featuring bassoonist Paul Hansen (formerly with Bela Fleck) and is looking to tour again. Dan also plays regularly with grammy-award winning violinist Mads Tolling (of Turtle Island Quartet).
Dan's debut 2009 CD release One Way or Another featuring trumpeter Erik Jekabson received rave reviews from jazz critic Andy Gilbert as well as SF bay area publications like the East Bay Express and the SF Weekly.
Dan is currently a successful bandleader, having performed at the acclaimed Yoshi's Jazz Club three times as a leader as well as at festivals such as the Angra Jazz Festival, the Fillmore Jazz Festival, the SF Jazz Festival, the San Jose Jazz Festival and many more. As an in-demand jazz pianist in the SF bay area, he plays regularly with top bay area jazz icons like Marcus Shelby and Adam Theis as well as his own trio featuring Zach Ostroff on bass and Alan Hall on drums. As a teacher and clinician, Dan has been on the faculty at several major jazz institutions including Stanford Jazz Institute, Jazzcamp West, The California Jazz Conservatory and Lafayette Jazz Camp. danzemelman.com
Kai Lyons is a 23 year old jazz guitarist. Growing up in the Exelsior District of San Francisco, he was surrounded by music and commiunity from an early age. He completed his studies at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in 2012 as the first to graduate from the acclaimed Classical Guitar Program, directed by Scott Cmiel. From 2012-2014 Kai attended, on full scholarship, the prestigious jazz program at William Paterson University of New Jersey, directed by Mulgrew Miller, and studied with Vincent Herring, Gene Bertoncini, Harold Mabern, Rich Perry, and Hal Galper. Ever since returning to the Bay Area in 2015, he has traveled frequently to New York City, New Orleans, and the Caribbean to foster a more profound relationship with music. He has performed with Mike Clark and Donald Harrison of Herbie Hancock's Original Headhunters, is a Jazz Search West Semifinalist, and improvises regularly with award-winning organist Wil Blades and piano legend Larry Vuckovich. kailyons.com