{{Short description|American conductor (born 1951)}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Jeff Tyzik | birth_name = Jeff Tkazyik | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|08|01}} | birth_place = Hyde Park, New York, U.S. | genre = Jazz, pop, classical | occupation = Musician, composer, arranger, conductor | instrument = Trumpet | years_active = 1973–present | label = Capitol, Polydor, Amherst | website = {{URL|jefftyzik.com}} }}

'''Jeff Tyzik''' (born '''Jeff Tkazyik''', August 1, 1951)<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.facebook.com/RochesterPhilharmonic/photos/a.235352325121.286639.59358415121/10154526309390122/ | title=If you see RPO Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik today, wish him a very happy birthday! | website=www.facebook.com}}</ref><ref name=PoughkeepsieJournal /> is an American conductor, arranger, and trumpeter.<ref name=PoughkeepsieJournal /> He has recorded jazz albums as a soloist and arranged pop and jazz music for orchestras.

==Early life and education== Tyzik, born in Hyde Park, New York, started playing cornet at age nine,<ref name="OregonSymphony">{{cite web|url=https://www.oregonsymphony.com/bios/guestartists/tyzik.aspx |title=Jeff Tyzik performs with the Oregon Symphony |accessdate=2007-07-24 |publisher=OregonSymphony.com |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929155111/https://www.oregonsymphony.com/bios/guestartists/tyzik.aspx |archivedate=2007-09-29 }}</ref> after being inspired by the buglers in an Independence Day parade in nearby Poughkeepsie.<ref name=PoughkeepsieJournal>{{cite news|last=Barry |first=John W. |title=Poughkeepsie native Jeff Tyzik is principal pops conductor for Rochester Philharmonic |url=http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20130402/LIFE/304010040/Poughkeepsie-native-Jeff-Tyzik-principal-pops-conductor-Rochester-Philharmonic |accessdate=April 15, 2013 |newspaper=Poughkeepsie Journal |date=April 2, 2013 |agency=Gannett Company |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240526144038/https://www.webcitation.org/6FuTFfoGx?url=http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20130402/LIFE/304010040/Poughkeepsie-native-Jeff-Tyzik-principal-pops-conductor-Rochester-Philharmonic%3Fnclick_check=1 |archivedate=May 26, 2024 |location=Poughkeepsie, New York |url-status=dead }}</ref> He switched to trumpet at age 11.<ref name=PoughkeepsieJournal /> He attended the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, earning Bachelor of Music (1973) and Master of Music (1977) degrees.<ref name="ClassNotes">{{cite web |url=http://www.rochester.edu/pr/Review/V59N1/CN_East.html |title=Eastman School of Music Class Notes |accessdate=2007-07-24 |work=Rochester Review |publisher=University of Rochester}}</ref>

==Career== While at Eastman, Tyzik met Chuck Mangione, a flugelhornist from Rochester who was teaching at the school. He worked with Mangione between 1973 and 1980 as lead trumpeter in Mangione's band and as co-producer of four albums.<ref name=PoughkeepsieJournal /> During this time, Tyzik also began a long collaboration with Doc Severinsen, when Severinsen brought him to London to work on two albums with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Tyzik recorded six albums as a solo trumpeter between 1981 and 1990, appearing on Capitol, Polydor, and Amherst Records. He performed in the Rochester area with his own big band in the late 1970s and early 1980s. During this time, Tyzik was also busy with Severinsen, serving as arranger and record producer for Severinsen and The Tonight Show Band. Tyzik won a Grammy Award in 1987 for producing the 1986 album ''The Tonight Show Band with Doc Severinsen''.

In addition to Severinsen and Mangione, Tyzik has arranged music and produced records for Maynard Ferguson and for the Woody Herman Orchestra.

=== Rochester Philharmonic === The Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra approached Tyzik and Allen Vizzutti (a friend of Tyzik's from Eastman) in 1983 about creating a pops program for the orchestra.<ref name=PoughkeepsieJournal /> The pair spent the next decade working with orchestras around the country on similar programs.<ref name=PoughkeepsieJournal />

In 1994, Tyzik was named Principal Pops Conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he still holds. Since then, he has established himself as one of the country's preeminent Pops conductors and arrangers, acting as Principal Pops Conductor for the RPO, the Dallas Symphony,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://artandseek.org/2013/08/19/dso-names-principal-pops-conductor/ |access-date=2024-05-18|title=DSO Names Principal Pops Conductor|date=19 August 2013 }}</ref> Oregon Symphony, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, The Florida Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony.<ref name=PoughkeepsieJournal /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rpo.org/s_3/p_45/Jeff_Tyzik/ |title=Jeff Tyzik - Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra |access-date=2007-07-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501094309/http://www.rpo.org/s_3/p_45/Jeff_Tyzik/ |archive-date=2013-05-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rbj.net/article.asp?aID=193033 |title=RPO's Tyzik named to Detroit Symphony Orchestra post &#124; Rochester Business Journal New York business news and information |accessdate=2012-11-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106014327/http://www.rbj.net/article.asp?aID=193033 |archivedate=2012-11-06 }}</ref> He has appeared as guest conductor for numerous other orchestras in the U.S., Canada, and even Monte Carlo. He also conducted the Brass Band of Battle Creek for a 1996 independent album.

His arrangements of popular and jazz tunes for full orchestra have been widely performed. Publisher G. Schirmer commissioned Tyzik to arrange some of Duke Ellington's jazz suites for orchestra, including ''Black, Brown and Beige'' and ''The Nutcracker Suite''. The Royal Philharmonic, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and the Summit Brass have all recorded music arranged or composed by Tyzik.

Tyzik later branched out into more traditional orchestral styles, conducting a few RPO concerts outside of the Pops series. At one such concert, he premiered his own ''Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra'', and later premiered his wind ensemble orchestration of the same piece with the Eastman Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall.

A 2007 recording by the RPO, with Tyzik conducting and Jon Nakamatsu on piano, of George Gershwin's ''Piano Concerto in F'', ''Rhapsody in Blue'', and ''Cuban Overture'' peaked at #3 on the Billboard classical charts. The album, on the Harmonia Mundi label, received very positive reviews, with David Hurwitz calling it "unquestionably the best Gershwin disc to come along in years".<ref name="reviews">{{cite web |url=http://www.democratandchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=70524/LIVING/705240323/1032 |title=RPO's Gershwin CD gets rave reviews |accessdate=2007-07-24 |work=Democrat and Chronicle }}{{Dead link|date=January 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Personal life==

Tyzik lives in Rochester with his wife, Jill. Their daughter is mezzo-soprano Jami Tyzik. John Tkazyik, former mayor of Poughkeepsie, is a second cousin.<ref name=PoughkeepsieJournal />

==Discography== * ''Farthest Corner of My Mind'' (independent, 1979) * ''Prophecy'' (independent, 1980) * ''Radiance'' (Capitol, 1982) * ''Jammin' in Manhattan'' (Polydor, 1984) * ''Smile'' (Polydor, 1985) * ''Distant Dreams'' (Amherst, 1990)

==References== {{reflist}} *[http://www.kute.com/artists/tyzik_jeff.htm Jeff Tyzik at KUTE]

==External links== * [http://www.jefftyzik.com/ Official site]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyzik, Jeff}} Category:Living people Category:1951 births Category:Musicians from Rochester, New York Category:People from Hyde Park, New York Category:Jazz musicians from New York (state) Category:American conductors (music) Category:American male conductors (music) Category:American jazz trumpeters Category:American male trumpeters Category:American jazz bandleaders Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Eastman School of Music alumni Category:American male jazz musicians