Saxophonist Azar Lawrence played in the bands of McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones, and worked with Miles Davis but – especially in the eighties – he also played with pop acts like Earth, Wind & Fire, Frank Zappa and Busta Rhymes. For Lawrence, it was important to play with musicians who were relevant to developments in contemporary music. Lawrence was taught music from the age of five by his talented mother and soon after leaving school he was active on the Los Angeles jazz scene. He moved to the East Coast aged twenty and released several albums before he turned twenty-five. In the early noughties Lawrence returned to his post-bop roots. A deeply spiritual man, his aim is to create healing music for the world, like John Coltrane. Lawrence’s latest album, The Seeker from 2014, continues the legacy of the grand master.
