Azar Lawrence - Shadow Dancing (1985) [vinyl]

Saxophonist Azar Lawrence (born 1952) needs little introduction, as a young musical prodigy he was lovingly tutored by his mother, who taught music and led their church choir. At age 5, he played violin in the Los Angeles Junior Symphony, then viola, but his ears were turned to the saxophone at age 13. Azar spent his teen years immersed in jazz at the home of his best friend, none other than the late Reggie Golson, son of the great composer/arranger/saxophonist, Bennie Golson. From then on it was jazz, jazz and more jazz! Azar Lawrence began his jazz career at the renowned Dorsey High School Jazz Workshop. After high school he played in Horace Tapscott's 'Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra' and started performing in the Los Angeles club circuit. He soon found himself playing with the Ike & Tina Turner band, the Watts 103rd Street Band and War. At the age of 19, Azar joined John Coltrane's drummer Elvin Jones for over 3 years before being invited by McCoy Tyner to join his quartet (an alchemy that lasted for 5 exuberant years). During his tenure with Tyner, he also recorded with Miles Davis on the album Dark Magus at the famed Carnegie Hall. Upon leaving Tyner, Azar Lawrence recorded his own projects on Prestige Records, including Bridge Into The New Age (1974), Summer Solstice (1975) and People Moving (1976). After these three albums it would take over a decade before Mr. Lawrence would record another solo album (Shadow Dancing, released in 1985). Azar went on to record/write and perform with luminaries such as Freddie Hubbard, Busta Rhymes, Roberta Flack, The Headhunters and Mulatu Astatke. His sensational collaborations of the period included writing and performing on Earth Wind & Fire's highly acclaimed platinum album, Powerlight, and on Marvin Gaye's Grammy award winning, Hear My Dear. Azar Lawrence's work was sampled by renowned artists/acts from the likes of Madlib, Cypress Hill... and many others. In the early 2000s, Lawrence surged back onto the jazz scene and continues to electrify audiences with outstanding original compositions and chart hitting albums. His band, The Azar Lawrence Experience (TALE) appears with as many as eight musicians who sizzle to the sounds of Azar's powerful compositions, as well as songs from the Coltrane songbook. To this day TALE dedicates itself to sharing a lifetime of Azar Lawrence's music, art and spirituality with global audiences. On the album Shadow Dancing (released in 1985), which we are proudly presenting you today, you can hear the musical versatility only an artist like Azar Lawrence can deliver. Next to his trademark jazz sound, this album is filled with funk, soul and boogie influences. If you're looking for THE perfect mix of synth filled boogie & jazz-funk where the Sax takes the center stage... then this is a highly recommended gem for your record collection (and a must-have for seekers of rare grooves). ~ MainstVinyl.com. 

Riza Records, RRL 85-101, 1985
Tidal Waves Music, TWM76, 2021
Recorded and Mixed at Gatoons Recording Studios, California 

Musicians:
Azar Lawrence - Reeds, Backing Vocals
Greg Cook - Keyboards, Guitar, Bass
Denzell Miller Jr., Joel Gaines - Keyboards
Leo Nocentelli, Marlowe Henderson - Guitar
James Gadson - Drums
Fred Johnson - Drum Programming [Lyndrum]
Eddie "Bongo" Brown, Eric McKain - Percussion
Coco Evans - Vocals (#A1,B1), Backing Vocals
Orin Waters, Roy Galloway - Backing Vocals 

Tracks:
A1. Magic In The Night {Azar Lawrence, Greg Cook} (3:52)
A2. Shadow Dancing {Azar Lawrence, Greg Cook} (5:33)
A3. Inside Stuff {B. Parrish} (2:47)
A4. One More Time {Fugino} (7:41)
B1. Your Love Is Keeping Me Alive {Azar Lawrence, Greg Cook} (3:38)
B2. Keep It Hot {Azar Lawrence, Greg Cook} (4:59)
B3. Singapore Nights {Azar Lawrence, Fugino} (5:11)
B4. Interlude {Azar Lawrence, Greg Cook} (2:53) 

Total Time: 36:39

Credits:
Producer - Azar Lawrence
Co-producer - Greg Cook (#A2,B2)
Executive-Producer - Dr. Riza Jardan
Engineer - Reggie Dozier
Engineer [Assistant] - Nikki Bowden
Mastering - Jeff Sanders
Art Direction, Design – Duval Lewis
Photography [Cover] - David Ogborne

Azar Lawrence - Summer Solstice

On his second album on Prestige there is even more powerful tenor and soprano work because there are fewer soloists and no singers. There is a Brazilian overtone and a spiritual jazz undertone (and sometimes vice-versa) that puts this album into a world of it's own except perhaps for the short lived acoustic Weather Report. Both of these albums grow on you with repeated listening (for example I barely notice the vocals on Bridge anymore) but this one kind of opens up and reveals more and more depth. This guy was one baaad ass player!

from Dusty Groove
"A beautiful album of spiritual soul and Brazilian influenced jazz from Azar Lawrence – ... Lawrence is a stellar sax player with a sound that's a bit like Gary Bartz, which means that he fits in perfectly with the Fantasy-era Prestige Records sound – but the sounds on this set are uncommonly rich and globally influenced. The set's predominantly acoustic, with lots of modal grooves in kind of a Strata East vein – and angular post-Coltrane playing that's very similar to Bartz's work on the Libra album from his early days. Players include Raul De Souza on trombone, Ron Carter on bass, Billy Hart on drums, Dom Salvador, who is really allowed to shine on piano on a few tracks, and drummer & percussionist Guilherme Franco, who brings a world of wonderful percussion on a couple of numbers. Titles include "Highway", "From The Point of Love", "Novo Ano", and "From The Point Of Light".

Azar Lawrence - Bridge into the New Age

Azar Lawrence grew up in L.A. as something of a musical prodigy. By 11 he played drums, violin and piano and he sang as well. A family friend brought a saxophone to the home right around the time Azar was ready to start viola and his musical focus was changed. By the time he graduated high school he had mastered the instrument well enough to begin a professional career.

At 19 he had a regular club gig with Woody Shaw and worked with R&B folk like Ike and Tina Turner and War. By the age of 22 he was playing with the likes of Elvin Jones, Miles Davis and McCoy Tyner. From 1972 to 1976 he was certainly one of the fastest rising stars in the jazz world. Then he kind of vanishes from the Jazz world for 20 + years.

What happened to this young man who was hailed by some as the next coming of Coltrane? Well he didn't leave music by any means. In fact, he participated in wild variety of projects from Earth, Wind and Fire, Marvin Gaye, Frank Zappa, and a funk band called Chameleon; he made some serious cash, discovered cocaine, had a down period, and has returned to jazz. (yeah, I know that is seriously condensed but I'm not his biographer now am I?)

This stunning album of what I think of as 'Spiritual Jazz' was done in 1974 and features a remarkable cast of major league players like Woody Shaw, Jean Carn, Clint Houston, John Heard, Hadley Caliman, Julian Priester, Ndugu, Mtume, Kenneth Nash... it sounds for all the world like something from Black Jazz or Strata East and yet it is a Orrin Keepnews produced Prestige/Fantasy release. It vanished from print within 5 years or so and saw one cd reissue for two or three minutes.

I picked up this copy from a long forgotten blog some three years ago or more, my original vinyl copy was long gone so I am deeply grateful to that original uploader. I really like this album and I'm very happy to pass on the share.