When there was no more John Coltrane, a generation of saxophonists were so deeply influenced by his spirit and ideas that they carried on his tradition and his sound. Not many succeeded, and very few remain.
One who has endured, taking the ideas from that era, making them his own and bringing them into the current century is Azar Lawrence.
He will be appearing with a quartet at Jimmy Mak’s on Wednesday, March 10, 8pm, Tickets $20. Mel Brown Quartet also appearing.
He played in Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner’s bands. That says it all. Since then he has played with everyone from Frank Zappa to Woody Shaw to Busta Rhymes. He did not record for many years, but has been active in the past three.
His latest album is called Prayer For My Ancestors which was released last year and features Los Angeles pianist, Nate Morgan, and Henry “the Skipper” Franklin on bass. Franklin and Lawrence played in Horace Tapscott’s Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra. On drums is former McCoy Tyner band mate Alphonse Mouzon.
Listen to “Open Sesame”
Lawrence writes about his meetings with the masters:
It is said that music is of a pure nature all around us and within us as well. This music is from the tones produced by every vibration. Throughout the universe every atom everywhere produces a tone whether we can hear it or not. This is commonly referred to as the music of the spheres. When we as musicians dedicate our lives to a certain daily practice in order to try to produce the purest vibration tones we can often send those tones onto and into others like laser beams. Whether one on one or in groups music can and does cause an uplifting or healing effect. Our vibrations are lifted and we feel better and we are better.
I received this great understanding as inspiration in words of guidance and musical encouragement early on from legendary masters whom I have had the honor and privilege to humbly study, learn from, and perform with all along the way. McCoy Tyner’s reply to me when I asked him how could he play with me just having turned 19 years old after being with the incomparable John Coltrane, was “I think you feel the same way about the music that John did.”
The great Elvin Jones told me that he thought that I had the “same kind of energy” that Mr. Coltrane had and “that was what was needed from me.”
Miles Davis told me when I was asked to join his band in the mid 70’s that the reason he wanted me to come aboard was because he “had not heard tenor sax since John Coltrane until me.”
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He was a side man for Davis on the Dark Magus record, which was a live record, recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1974. Originally released in 1977 in Japan.
Azar can deliver the hard bop in the old school tradition with a 21st Century feel. Mod Bop!!
i saw mccoy’s band w/ azar 3 or 4 times in the ’70s, & have several albums by that unit; my favorite among them being the 2-lp “enlightenment”, recorded @ montreux in ‘73; it also features mr. mouzon. to date, it contains some of the most forceful music of tyner’s career. i’m delighted that mr. lawrence is “back on the scene”!
I loved Morning Dance and wore that cut out. Definitely agree that his is a special voice.
Wow you can really hear Miles in his playing
feel free to adapt this for you “seen & heard” if you like: weds. night may have been the closest many alive today have been, or wiil be, to experiencing the intensity of a live concert by the coltrane quartet of the late ’60s. azar has been out of the public ear for way too long, but i means ta tell ya, as for the strength of his music “then & now”…he never left..w/ venezuelan pianist benito gonzalez (bookmark that name!), our own andre st.james (all due respect, but i don’t think another port. bassist wd’ve SURVIVED this gig!), & lorca (son of billy) hart on drums, azar, like his early mentors, kicked it off from a higher level than many bands achieve after 3 long sets. their 1st one featured just 4 long numbers, w/ azar on soprano for the last 2: a stunningly lovely “every time we say goodbye” & a very high-energy “afro-blue”. i pity those who didn’t stick around, cuz the 2nd set really upped the ante in the coltrane dept. -starting w/ “moment’s notice” @ abt 9,000 bpm! & featuring a truly amazing piano cadenza by senor benito that was one of the most incredible technical displays i’ve ever witnessed! (& i’ve seen more than a few, both jazz & classical) this cat has the chops of mccoy & gonzalo rubalcaba all-in-one! as for lorca hart, it was apparent from the git-go that he & benito have a very tight rapport, & their interactions were consistently satisfying; hart-the younger brings the color, the poly-rhythmic subtlety, & the sheer brute force wherever each is required. (i was expecting alphonse mouzon on the gig, but wasn’t disappointed).. i told andre later that i’d seldom seen HIM work so hard; (his playing, from the opener on, was FAR superior to mr. joony booth’s in mccoy’s ’70s band w/ azar, i’d say) anyhow, THEN they got into a couple of movements from “a love supreme” & that’s when the roof really came off! just bearin’ witness here cuz there weren’t 20 folks off-the-clock in the room for the late set. thanks to oregonmusicnews.com for givin’ me a pair! i needed ‘em! & the walk home was worth it!
the above was taken from my FB page (james edwin olding) where i also included a ‘74 video of “walk spirit, talk spirit” by tyner’s group.