Piedmont Piano is pleased to present
Larry Vuckovich & Kai Lyons
The Music of Bill Evans & Jim Hall
Pianist Larry Vuckovich and the talented young 24-year-old guitarist, Kai Lyons will pay homage to the jazz great Bill Evans and Jim Hall. Their memorable duets made a mark on jazz history, using spontaneous and creative interplay. Their musical conversations offered a strong sense of creative swing, lyrical and melodic jazz improvisation, and impressionistic harmony. Larry and Kai will recreate some of this exciting history, as well as some of their other diverse selections.
$25 General Admission
Larry Vuckovich has won acclaim from critics and jazz audiences for his deeply imaginative style and repertoire heard at prestigious North American and European jazz clubs, concert halls and festivals. The New York Times notes that his unique outlook and collection of influences “set him apart from most pianists who are heard regularly in New York.” The Village Voice comments on his “book of piano gems that will keep you guessing.” The Toronto Globe and Mail calls him “a musician who sits apart from the rest by virtue ... of his taste for both the exotic and the exquisite.” He has played with jazz greats from several influences: Dexter Gordon, Philly Joe Jones, Mel Tormé, Don Byas, and Red Norvo to today’s artists: Charlie Haden, Bobby Hutcherson, Bobby McFerrin, Tom Harrell, and Charles McPherson. He led the Keystone Korner house trio in San Francisco for five years, before moving to the New York scene, where he played at all the top clubs. When he returned home, Larry later headed the Grand Hyatt’s Club 36 music program, which during his tenure, became a San Francisco Jazz Festival venue. Larry presented weeklong theme shows there and at Kimballs East/West, Yoshi’s, and The Bach, and was artistic director of the former Napa Valley Jazz Festival in Yountville. He also performed as a guest of Marian McPartland on her NPR show, Piano Jazz. In August 2019, he traveled to Serbia to perform at the Nišville Festival, where he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from his former country, Yugoslavia, for being the only jazz musician from those parts who has performed in the US with numerous greats & received top reviews from the NY Times & other major publications. larryvuckovich.com
Kai Lyons is a 24 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