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Wayman Tisdale on Quest to Get Healthy

Oklahoma basketball legend, former NBA player and smooth jazz musician, Wayman Tisdale was diagnosed early last year with cancer, he has been fighting the disease ever since and his quest to get healthy has lead him to literally “take it out.”

In an effort to eradicate the bone cancer from his body, earlier this week Tisdale underwent a surgery that amputated part of his right leg.

Though the procedure may sound drastic, Tisdale remains optimistic, saying in a statement on his website, “I have put it in God’s hands and now have peace, knowing that this is the best way to put this disease in check.

“I have complete faith that with the Lord’s blessings this surgery will eliminate the cancer from my body and I’ll soon be back on the road doing what I do best. After recovery and rehab I plan to resume touring in the Fall.”

The cancer forced him to cancel 40 or 50 tour dates last year, but around Christmas, he returned to the stage. Tisdale has made it clear that by January he plans to be “dancing on the deck onboard the Smooth Jazz Cruise” an event he hosts annually.

In February of 2007, Tisdale broke his right leg when he fell down a flight of stairs at his Los Angeles home. While examining that injury, doctors discovered a cancerous cyst just below his knee.

Repeated biopsies were inconclusive, but after almost five weeks, tests finally determined that the mass was malignant. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. The cyst was removed, he had knee replacement surgery, then began chemotherapy.

“The hardest thing for me … was when the doctor told me that I was going to have to take it easy for awhile,” Tisdale said earlier this year. “I was like, ‘I don’t know how to take it easy.’”

After retiring from basketball in 1997, Tisdale turned his attention to his love of music. The smooth jazz guitarist made records and toured around the country.

“When life tries to get you down,” he says at the top of the title track of his latest album,Rebound, “it’s the perfect time for a rebound.”

In June Tisdale’s album debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums Chart. The album title continues to reflect the state of his life, his career and his music.

“There is a lot more music inside me,” he said in a recent statement, “and once I am back on my feet, I look forward to sharing my joy with my fans, friends and fellow musicians.”

For more information on Wayman Tisdale you can visit his website, waymantisdale.com.

This article was written by Frankie Sanchez for Smooth News and is provided as a courtesy from Smooth Jazz Network ™ for more Smooth Jazz Network and Smooth Jazz Top 20.

Patti Austin, Lee Ritenour, Dave Grusin on New Big Phat Band Release

Vocalist Patti Austin, guitarist Lee Ritenour, and pianist Dave Grusin are just three of the special guests on the new CD by Grammy-winning Gordon Goodwin and his Big Phat Band. The CD, titled Act Your Age, is available now. The CD features material that was produced by Ritenour.

Austin and Ritenour perform together with the band on a version of Earth Wind & Fire's "September," while Ritenour joins keyboardist Grusin for a new version of his tune "Punta Del Soul." Special guest Chick Corea also hits the keyboards on a new version of his composition "Senor Mouse."

The new album also includes virtual guest Art Tatum, whose piano performance of "Yesterdays" is enhanced by the band through the magic of technology.

The Big Phat Band also features saxophonist Eric Marienthal.

The band's previous release was 2006's The Phat Pack, which featured guest clarinetist Eddie Daniels and Grammy winners Take 6 and Dianne Reeves.

This article was written by Frankie Sanchez for Smooth News and is provided as a courtesy from Smooth Jazz Network ™ for more Smooth Jazz Network and Smooth Jazz Top 20.

Boz Scaggs has just added a five-night stand at New York City's Blue Note for his upcoming fall tour. Scaggs kicks off his 20-date tour on September 2nd in Regina, Saskatoon and wraps up his trek on November 20th in Annapolis, Maryland.

The latest addition to Scaggs' band is Toto keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, who's joining Scaggs on tour while Toto's on hiatus: "A new musician I'm really excited about playing with, a fellow named Greg Phillinganes who is something of a Ferrari of a musician -- who I've wanted to work with for many years -- who I'm getting together with as an arranger. And he's playing keyboards. So, there will be constant revamping and rearranging of a number of things, and we're adding a number of things to the repertoire."

Phillinganes was discovered back in the mid-1970s by Stevie Wonder and was part of Wonder's touring band Wonderlove from 1976 to 1981. Phillinganes was also the primary keyboardist on Michael Jackson's albums Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad. Throughout the 1980's Phillinganes worked primarily with Eric Clapton, and since 2004 has recorded and toured as part of Toto.

Boz Scaggs tour dates (subject to change):
September 2 - Regina, SK - Casino Regina Show Lounge
September 6 - Bethlehem, PA - Zoellner Arts Center
September 9 - Beverly, MA - North Shore Music Theatre
September 10 - Morristown, NJ - The Community Theatre At Mayo Center For The Performing Arts
September 12 - Mount Pleasant, MI - Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort
September 13 - Milwaukee, WI - Northern Lights Theater
September 14 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
October 11 - Cerritos, CA - Cerritos Center For The Performing Arts
October 12 - Phoenix, AZ - Desert Ridge
October 12 - Phoenix, AZ - JW Marriott At Desert Ridge
October 30, 31 - Seattle, WA - Dimitriou's Jazz Alley
November 1, 2 - Seattle, WA - Dimitriou's Jazz Alley
November 10, 11, 14, 15, 16 - New York, NY - Blue Note
November 20 - Annapolis, MD - Rams Head On Stage

This article was written by Frankie Sanchez for Smooth News and is provided as a courtesy from Smooth Jazz Network ™ for more Smooth Jazz Network and Smooth Jazz Top 20.

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