Wayman Tisdale and his soulful Jazz band review at the Newport Jazz Festival at the Hyatt (10/07)
The night was one to remember. Wayman Tisdale (pictured above and photo by Ambrose Martin), the ex-basketball star turned renowned jazz musician performed in the intimate setting at the Hyatt Regency Newport Beach Friday, September 28th 2007. This beautiful outdoor amphitheater area is fantastic for concerts, as they set up seats on the grass with bars and food available before and during the show.
The Wave’s Hyatt Regency Newport Beach Summer Jazz Series takes place every Friday evenings from June to October.
The 6’9 bass guitarist who started his basketball career at Oklahoma University in 1982, played for coach Bobby Knight on the 1984 US Olympic team and played for the Indiana Pacers, the Sacramento Kings and the Phoenix Suns while enjoying playing the guitar. The 150-member crowd enjoyed Wayman’s expert bass guitar playing backed up by his groovy/jazzy band. We enjoyed Wayman’s rendition of favorite songs such as “Cruisin” and some of popular Disco/Motown favorites.
Wayman had an incredible repoire with the crowd and his voice is as smooth and funky as his bass playing. His smile is as big and warm as Magic Johnson.
These 2 photos above by Dave Hopley.
Remarking about his recent bout with cancer Wayman noted this classic line during the concert as he told the audience about his bout, “If I could survive Bobby Knight, I can beat this”. He was diagnosed with a cyst early in the year and was told he would not be able to perform until the start of 2008 but he looked great. The cyst identified as cancer, was removed. Following chemotherapy, Tisdale, 42, underwent knee-replacement surgery.
Face to Face, released by Warner Brothers in 2001, hit the number-one spot on Billboard’s contemporary jazz charts He was named Bassist of the Year by the National Smooth Jazz Awards in 2002. His first four albums reached Billboard’s top ten chart and included the number-one hit "Can’t Hide Love”. His newest single is “Get Down On It,” and the masterpiece album from which it was born is titled “Way Up”.
The Smooth Jazz Cruise hosted by Tisdale is January 20-27th, 08 from Fort Lauderdale to various islands with an incredible jazz lineup already set.. More at www.thesmoothjazzcruise.com
As the Summer Jazz Series came to an end October 5th please check the following website for next year’s summer jazz series http://www.summerjazzseries.com/series.php