“[Lawrence has] sculpted that Coltrane-oriented goodness into the mosaic of his own mature artistry.” —JazzTimes
Saxophonist Azar Lawrence came of age inside John Coltrane's direct musical lineage. In his late teens and twenties he held chairs with Elvin Jones and then McCoy Tyner — Coltrane's own legendary drummer and pianist — appearing on landmark albums like Enlightenment and Atlantis, and recording with Miles Davis on Dark Magus. That apprenticeship shaped a sound built on Coltrane's harmonic language and spiritual reach, but Lawrence never stayed a copyist: over five decades he's carried that foundation into his own catalog, from 1974's Bridge Into the New Age through Elementals, developing a broad, gritty tone and an improvisational logic that's distinctly his own. The Los Angeles-born Lawrence, has never been confined by conventional genres or categories, though: His instrumental and songwriting work with iconic soul artists Chuck Jackson, Roberta Flack, Marvin Gaye, Phyllis Hyman; and the Earth, Wind & Fire is just as indelible.
“Culminating Coltrane” closes out the centennial year of Coltrane's birth with Lawrence returning to the source — the music of his mentor's mentors — filtered through everything he's learned in the fifty years since. It's a rare chance to hear that lineage carried forward by someone who lived it.
Personnel:
Azar Lawrence: saxophones
Eric Gunnison: piano
Seth Lewis: bass
Alejandro Castano: drums
