SPECIAL EFX featuring CHIELI MINUCCI with REBECCA JADE, LAO TIZER, ANTHONY CRAWFORD & JOEL ROSENBLATT

Sun, Nov 16

SEATED SHOW | 21+ | NO DINNER SERVICE November 16, 2025 San Diego/The Lafayette Hotel Special EFX featuring Chieli Minucci & Rebecca Jade with Lao Tizer, Joel Rosenblatt, Anthony Crawford Guitarist, composer, producer, and arranger Chieli Minucci is longtime leader of the Grammy-nominated jazz-fusion group SPECIAL EFX featuring Chieli Minucci, a major force on the jazz and world music scene for over 40 years. Chieli and Special EFX recently released “Meant to Be”, the new chart-topping single, which reached the #1 spot on Billboard! In the summer of 2024, their previous single, “Cool Summer”, reached the #1 spot on Billboard, as well as a total of 5 charts simultaneously! Chieli has also recently released 3 unique projects - “Return to Budapest With Love”, is an archived, 1990 live concert recording of Special EFX from their early days on tour in Europe; the solo, and mainly acoustic release, “Someone’s Singing”; as well as the 40th anniversary Special EFX CD, “Twenty Twenty 2”. Chieli & Special EFX’s previous release saw title track, “Deep as the Night”, win Billboard Magazine’s 2018 top honors, best-song-of-the-year. Besides writing and performing his own music, Chieli shares his guitar brilliance throughout the entertainment world. He has recorded and performed with many top artists, such as Celine Dion, Lou Reed, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Lopez, Jewel, Marc Anthony, Michael Bolton, Rupert Holmes, Anastasia, even classic artists Eartha Kitt, and Eddie Fisher. He’s collaborated and worked alongside contemporary jazz artists Kirk Whalum, Maysa, Jeff Lorber, Norman Brown, Bernie Williams, Marion Meadows, Lao Tizer, Mindi Abair, Rick Braun, Gerald Veasley, Omar Hakim, and many others. Although renowned in the jazz and pop world, Chieli is also a gifted television and film composer. He has won 3 Emmy Awards and been nominated 10 times for his eclectic compositional work. His music can also be heard on the soundtracks of the films No Country for Old Men, Bowfinger, Legally Blonde, Panic, and others. Chieli's original scoring work can be heard in live stage productions of Peter Pan, Dora the Explorer, Thomas the Tank Engine, and others. Rebecca Jade is an accomplished singer/songwriter and has been able to turn her love for music into a career for close to two decades. Growing up in a musical home, she had been exposed to a broad range of artists, genres, and styles from her mother, who is also a vocalist. With such influences, it seems a natural progression that Rebecca has followed in her footsteps. Rebecca Jade has performed with some of the most sought-after musicians all over the world, and her versatility has allowed her many unique opportunities to perform: Rebecca toured with the Queen of Percussion, Sheila E. since 2017 and appeared in the Emmy-nominated show, “Let’s Go Crazy: The GRAMMY Salute to Prince” that aired on CBS in April 2020; She also sang background vocals for Sir Elton John at the 2020 Academy Awards; Rebecca has appeared as an Artist on the Dave Koz Cruise since 2016; she made her debut on the Dave Koz & Friends 2021 Christmas tour and joined Dave for a repeat appearance in 2022; Rebecca has also been a featured artist on many of Eric Darius’ tour dates since 2022. Rebecca opened for Will Downing and Boney James at a sold-out Valentine’s Day concert in Long Beach, as well as opened for Jeffrey Osborne for the Thornton Winery Summer Concert series, both in 2019; Rebecca has done multiple concerts at Spaghettini in Seal Beach and was the singer in the House band at Anthology in San Diego for 5 1⁄2 years. Rebecca Jade has earned the title of “Breakout Artist of Year” from Smooth Jazz Network and “Debut Artist of the Year” by JazzTrax, both in 2022. Rebecca also earned a San Diego Music Award in 2023 “Best R&B/Funk/Soul Album” for her debut solo album, A Shade of Jade. Rebecca’s new album features songs with Dave Koz and Eric Darius, and she put on a sold-out album release concert at Sycuan Casino & Resort’s Live & Up-Close Showroom. Her first single from the album, “Show Me”, became her first Top 20 Billboard-charting song. Rebecca is also a jazz vocalist and released an album of Cole Porter classics titled, Planet Cole Porter with arranger/producer/jazz guitar virtuoso Peter Sprague, which earned them a 2018 SDMA for “Best Jazz Album”. She was also the frontwoman for the soul/funk band, Rebecca Jade & the Cold Fact, and they collectively earned SDMAs in 2014, 2015 and 2017, and a “Best of San Diego” Award in 2016. The band had the opportunity to open for and Rebecca to sing with El Debarge. Rebecca also opened for Grammy-nominated artist, Musiq Soulchild on two separate occasions. The Cold Fact released two full-length albums, one self-titled and the 2nd one called, Running Out of Time. Prior to the Cold Fact, Rebecca released her debut album collaboration in 2011 titled, The Jade Element. Rebecca has over 30 years of recording studio experience. She has sung background vocals, demos and jingles on many different projects, with people like Kiko Cibrián (Luis Miguel) and Kevin Flournoy (Chaka Khan), and has been involved in a variety of notable works, including being featured on Eric Darius’ newest and billboard-charting album, Unleashed, co-writing and being featured in two songs on DW3’s self-titled album that went #1 on the UK Soul Charts in 2020, and singing backing vocals on Aubrey Logan’s album, Where the Sunshine is Expensive, which went #1 on the Billboard charts in 2019. Rebecca is also an actor, having done a variety of work for companies, such as SDG&E, UCSD and Qualcomm, and recently had a principal role in a musical titled, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” at Lambs Players Theatre in Coronado, CA. Rebecca graduated from UC Berkeley on a full basketball scholarship with a degree in Theatre & Performance Studies, has earned her Master’s degree in Marketing from the University of Phoenix, and advanced her musical education by studying Jazz Theory and Classical Voice at Grossmont College. Rebecca is an avid motorcycle rider, has an affinity for classic cars, and loves the Arts community. She still plays basketball recreationally. Keyboardist Lao Tizer is one of today’s rising stars of the world-fusion genre. Tizer’s original music has spurred comparisons of a modern twist to the 1970s and early 1980s heyday of jazz fusion, when trailblazing ensembles like Return To Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report set the aesthetic standard. Lao’s music has a multi-genre, multi-national appeal and his group, The Lao Tizer Band, has toured the USA and the world while being nominated “Jazz Group of the Year”! Their new 2018 CD/DVD combo release, Songs From The Swinghouse has received acclaim across the industry while debuting near the top of the Billboard Jazz Album Chart! Joel Rosenblatt is a world-renowned drummer and producer. He has performed and recorded with such greats as: Spyro Gyra, Special EFX, Lee Ritenour, Freddy Jackson, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton. Eileen Ivers, Michel Camilo, Chick Corea, Steps Ahead, Paquito d Rivera, Manhattan Transfer, Randy Brecker, Ken Navarro, Bill Evans and many more. Having toured the world many times over, Joel brings an international musical awareness to the music. Currently the owner and main engineer at world class Cliff Sound Productions, Joel is also actively involved in producing and cultivating new artists. Also joining the Special EFX Allstars will be bassist Anthony Crawford, best known for working with Allan Holdsworth, Justin Timberlake, Peabo Bryson, Kirk Whalum. Crawford also played bass for the National Democratic Convention for president Bill Clinton in 2000.