Shows at 7:30pm & 9:30pm nightly:
In May 2011, the mighty tenor saxophonist Azar Lawrence made his Jazz Standard debut – and confirmed his longstanding reputation as one of the 21st century’s greatest exponents of the John Coltrane legacy. “Throughout his generously proportioned second set,” wrote Nate Chinen in The New York Times, “he played as if plugging into a life force. He seemed committed to the idea of the self as a vessel…” Born in Los Angeles in 1952, by age 21 Lawrence had worked with War, Ike & Tina Turner, and Charles Wright’s Watts 103rd Street Band (“Express Yourself”). He joined drummer Elvin Jones for two years, and for the next eight years moved between Jones’ group and the McCoy Tyner band. Azar played on Miles Davis’ 1974 live set Dark Magus and on Marvin Gaye’s Here My Dear; he released three albums as a leader, and saw his compositions recorded by Stanley Turrentine and Earth Wind & Fire, among others. In 2010, Azar Lawrence released Mystic Journey (Furthermore Recordings), his first album in nearly 30 years; his latest CD, Elements, is due out soon.
Azar Lawrence – tenor & soprano saxophone
Benito Gonzalez – piano
Buster Williams – bass
Marvin "Smitty" Smith – drums