Search - Azar Lawrence :: Mystic Journey

The new album by Azar Lawrence, Mystic Journey, features his East Coast piano and bass players of choice, Benito Gonzalez and Essiet Essiet and reunites with Gerald Hayes, who played on Azar's 1975 album, Summer Solstice. They are joined by the great Eddie Henderson on trumpet and the late Rashied Ali on drums. While his previous album, Prayer For My Ancestors found Azar wandering the savannas of Africa in search of inspiration, Mystic Journey is pure New York City. Having played with Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones in the early 1970s, Azar recorded a string of albums for Prestige. He then left the jazz scene and pursued a career in pop and R&B music, working with Marvin Gaye and joining Earth, Wind and Fire. He then began working in Hollywood, scoring for film and television. A few years ago, he was inspired to pick up the horn again. The results have been staggering. Jazz fans agree he's playing better and harder than ever, evoking inevitable Coltrane comparisons. But if anyone has a right to wear that title, it is Azar Lawrence. His connection to Coltrane may have begun with McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones, but on Mystic Journey, Azar is joined by yet another Coltrane acolyte and free jazz legend Rashied Ali. Ali died just 4 months after this recording, but his spirit lives on in the music. This band is powerful. From the opening of the title track to the last resonant note, Mystic Journey is a guaranteed thrill for fans and will convert the skeptics. The statement is simple: Azar Lawrence is back.