Superbly Coltranesque
greg taylor | Portland, Oregon United States | 03/28/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First, let us deal with the question of influence. There are some people whose sylistic innovations are so large (in the sense that they seem to speak deeply to the musical collective consciousness) that they become an esthetic. They move beyond stylistic innovation into opening up a style that others can explore independently/individually long after the innovator has moved on. The classic Ornette Coleman quartet is an example. In a different way, both Mingus and Monk are further examples. I believe Cecil Taylor to be another. I think no one will debate with me that the classic Coltrane quartet is a paragon of this phenomena.
What this means is that tenor players can spend their career exploring the musical path that this quartet opened and be individually great doing so. Billy Harper is one who has done this. Azar Lawrence, who has recently reemerged into the limelight gives solid evidence on this CD that he is fully capable of taking the Coltrane esthetic into new, interesting and beautiful territory.
Mr. Lawrence (I am feeling formal today) has been blessed by having another great influence. In the mid-seventies he was a central member of one of McCoy Tyner's greatest groups. I remember spending all my spare college kid money going to hear them for several nights during a one week stay in Montreal. The power and energy that came from that group night after night was a formative musical experience that became a standard that I still use to judge other performances.
If you are too young or somehow don't know what the classic Colrane quartet or Tyner's great group sounded like simply listen to the first two music samples and you will have a taste.
Mr. Lawrence plays the tenor and soprano sax on this CD. He is joined by stalwarts of the California jazz scene: Nate Morgan on piano, Henry Franklin on the bass and Alphonse Mouzon on the drums.
This core quartet is joined by guests on several songs. One of my favorites is Thokole. This song is written by two guests; Ibrahima Ba who plays guitar and sings and Amadu Fall who plays the kora. The sound of the kora and the guitar against the sound of Mr. Lawrence's soprano is a treat. It is one of those musical combinations that as soon as you hear, you find yourself wondering why it isn't done all the time.
The other guests are Nolan Shaheed on trumpet (superb on The Baker's Daughter), Roy McCurdy on drums, Tony Dumas on bass and Reagae Clark on percussion.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't talk up the core quartet a little. Listen to the way Morgan and Franklin start off the title composition. Franklin's arco is incredibly rich. He and Morgan immediately establish the spiritual jazz vibe that dominates throughout the piece (which has a sort of lyrical Pharoah Sanders feel to it). This sort of music is a healing force at the end of a long day. It calls us back from the petty quotidian upsets of the everyday work world to everything good; family, friends and philosophy (or religion-your choice).
We all owe a lot to John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, McCoy Tyner, Mingus and the other great innovators. Not just because they created new paths for themselves but for many others as well. Because they created musical languages that in various ways speak to the human excellences and to our soul/self. Mr. Lawrence is taking up the challenge of that creation and on this CD he succeeds brilliantly."
Good review above agree completely.Also check out...
C. Katz | Peoples Republic Of Massachussettes | 04/11/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Lawrence on Henry Franklin's Recent outings "Oh What Beautiful Morning" and "If We Should Meet Again" great work (which features The Skipper's frequent partner pianist Theo Saunders).Nice to see Lawrence come back from earloy 70s note then obscurity for a long time and be t the peak of his powers.This is the s*#t for sure!!!!!!!!"
