Jazz Articles about Dustin Laurenzi
About Dustin Laurenzi
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
Article Coverage | Calendar | Albums | Photos | Similar ArtistsDustin Laurenzi's Natural Language: A Time And A Place

by Mark Corroto
When Chicago tenor saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi dedicates a song Albert" on A Time And A Place to the the Holy Ghost of the avant- garde, Albert Ayler, he doesn't follow what most impersonators do and scream ALBERT" at you. He builds upon a simple melody pattern (Ayler-like) patiently magnifying the intensity and fervor. Unlike Ayler, whose music hinted he wouldn't live long (he died at 34), Laurenzi's invocation maintains an equanimity within the eruption. That's just Laurenzi being Laurenzi.
read moreDustin Laurenzi: Snaketime: The Music Of Moondog

by Mark Corroto
Many genius artists have been labeled as freaks or lunatics because they didn't conform to the standards of civil society, let alone the codes of behavior for musicians. Thelonious Monk, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Sun Ra are obvious examples of brilliant creators whose music endures and is celebrated. Add to that list Louis Thomas Hardin (1916-1999) aka Moondog. The blind composer-musician could often be found on 6th Avenue in New York dressed as a Viking, selling his music and poetry. ...
read moreDustin Laurenzi: Natural Language

by Mark Corroto
The first thing you notice about saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi is that he is an old soul. Not that he's old, he and bandmates guitarist Jeff Swanson, bassist Mike Harmon, and drummer Charles Rumback, are the next generation in Chicago's creative jazz tradition. It's his music that fits within the definition of old soul. It is comfortably easy to inhabit while avoiding being mainstream, patient with far-reaching wisdom that exhibits compassion and a certain inner peace. Ok, I know this is ...
read moreDustin Laurenzi: Natural Language

by Hrayr Attarian
With his sonorous tone and his watershed style, tenor saxophonist Dustin Laurenzi is one of the most promising emergent talents on the Chicago scene. With his various ensembles, in a few short years, he has recorded handful of uniformly exciting sessions. Their trademark is their foothold in the jazz tradition while simultaneously flirting with a freer more modern sound.On his Natural Language Laurenzi and his quartet interpret seven of his fluent and intriguing originals. The individual expressions of ...
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