I had a pretty healthy interest in music by the time I was 13-years-old. I dabbled around like a clumsy teenager on the piano. I played tenor sax, pretending with delusions of grandeur to be as cool as Coltrane or Bleeding Gums Murphy from The Simpsons. I picked around guitar, though never really doing much more than strumming a few Tom Petty songs.
At 13-years-old, Brandon ‘Taz’ Niederauer has accomplished more than most of us will ever accomplish in a lifetime. He’s performed Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” for huge MSG crowds during Knicks games. He’s sat in with Jon Batiste and Stay Human on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He’s currently staring in the Broadway musical version of School Of Rock, shredding away like Eddie Van Halen every single night in a sold-out theater.
Well, every night except Wednesday. The Winter Garden Theatre goes dark on Wednesday, which gives Taz and the other musicians in the show a chance to gig elsewhere in New York City.
Last night, that place was Brooklyn Bowl. Taz popped in for two songs with Elise Testone‘s funk/soul extravaganza.
After reading about him on live music blogs for years, I was stoked to finally see Taz work his magic. His talent is truly jaw-dropping. I promise you’ll be floored, if not ear-to-ear smiles at just how talented he is.
Shredding away behind Testone‘s nine piece big band on her original tune “Lucky Day”, Taz showed off how he is truly a guitar prodigy. Just give it listen in the video I grabbed above.
And they say rock is dead. Pshhhh. They just haven’t met Taz yet. Can’t wait to see what else he accomplishes over the next few years.
If you get a chance, go see Taz in School of Rock on Broadway and Elise Testone. She’s the best.
Here’s Taz trading bars with NYC sax pioneer Jay Rodriguez in Elise’s horn section. What a savage.
If you want to listen to the whole show, click here…