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Jazz Articles about Azar Lawrence
About Azar Lawrence
Instrument: Saxophone
Related Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar ToEric Reed Quartet, Pan African People's Arkestra and Pharoah Sanders / Joey DeFrancesco Tribute Band
by Chuck Koton
Eric Reed Quartet Sam FirstLos Angeles, CA June 9, 2023 This spring's weather was unseasonably cool, but the jazz scene has been hot in California! In June, master pianist Eric Reed brought his quartet, including tenor saxophonist Ralph Moore, bassist Mike Gurrola and drummer Reggie Quinerly to Sam First, a cozy jazz club just east of Los Angeles International Airport. The band opened with a composition of Moore's titled “623 C Street," which, according to Mr Reed, ...
read moreBill Ortiz: Points of View
by Nicholas F. Mondello
Long associated with Carlos Santana, with whom he had a 16-year stint, trumpeter Bill Ortiz steps into the spotlight here with an auspicious and highly entertaining session. Ten selections showcase Ortiz who is supported by some of the Bay area's best. The order of the day is energy, excitement, and an overall superb show. “Sunburst," an Eddie Henderson tune, launches things with a pulsing piano, driving bass, textured rhythms and Ortiz wailing, first using a Harmon mute ...
read moreThe Azar Lawrence Experience at Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society
by Roy Strassman
The Azar Lawrence Experience Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society Half Moon Bay, CA July 31, 2022 Azar Lawrence's most recent incarnation of The Azar Lawrence Experience brought its energetic presence to grace Half Moon Bay's Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society on July's final afternoon. The “Experience" featured a unique front line consisting of two horns, a guitar, and a vocalist. Somehow, the group's very presence evoked a feeling of freshness and inspiration. The ...
read moreAzar Lawrence Has Paid His Dues...Two times
by Chuck Koton
Tenor and soprano saxophonist Azar Lawrence has been one of the most dynamic and spiritually-charged reed players of the post-John Coltrane generation. Lawrence forged his sound in the fires of the Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner bands in the 1970s and, for nearly five decades, he has performed and recorded with the best musicians in the world. Today, Lawrence is at the peak of his horn playing, blowing with as much beauty, power and intensity as anyone on the music ...
read moreSummer Solstice
by C. Andrew Hovan
Founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock, the Prestige label was home to some of the best hard bop, swing, and blues music of the '50s and '60s. The diversity of the catalog through subsidiary labels such as Swingville and Bluesville was nothing short of extraordinary. Be it spoken word albums, Southern blues, or the folk strains from India, Japan, or Ireland-there was something for everyone through this ambitious program. By 1971 when the label was sold to Fantasy ...
read moreAzar Lawrence: Elementals
by Chris May
Azar Lawrence sounds more like John Coltrane than John Coltrane ever did. Well, almost. Mid-period Coltrane that is, post Atlantic Records and the sheets of sound, when Coltrane starting to record for Impulse with producer Bob Thiele. The closeness of the resemblance is longstanding and uncanny, but it has not been a cynical pose designed to maximise Lawrence's commercial appeal. He was 15 years old when Coltrane passed away in 1967 and by that time the older saxophonist had already ...
read moreShock and Awe: Azar Lawrence Drops "The Seeker" On Dizzy's
by Chuck Koton
Azar Lawrence Quintet Dizzy's Club Coca Cola New York, NY June 26-29, 2014 There ain't no denyin' that jazz is best heard “live." Ideally, the band is playing in a club equipped with quality sound and lighting systems, staffed by experienced people who are respectful of the music (especially bartenders who try to avoid running the drink mixers during bass and piano solos) and managed by someone who not only sees to it that ...
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