Label: Trazar Records, 2022
Personnel - Azar Lawrence: tenor and soprano saxophone; Lynne Fiddmont: vocals; Calesha “Bre-Z” Murray: vocals; Oren Waters; vocals; John Beasley: keyboards; Nduduzo Makhathini: keyboards; James Saez: guitar; Greg Poree: guitar; Gregory “G-Moe” Moore: guitar; Destiny Muhammad: harp; Sekou Bunch: bass; Tony Austin: drums; Munyungo Jackson: percussion.
The veteran saxophonist Azar Lawrence, whose musical credits include Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Marvin Gaye, Woody Shaw and The Earth, Wind & Fire, delves into a variety of material as he channels optimistic vibes into our troubled pandemic times. A deep connoisseur of tradition, Lawrence leads a combo of versatile players who provide him with excellent jazz, R&B and Brazilian-tinged backgrounds.
“All in Love” opens the way with warm colors and a properly defined structure that condensates portions of funk, reggae, post-bop, and a mix of Afro and Middle Eastern feels. Following the sagacious tenor statement, there’s an eruptive rock-inclined guitar solo that brings an extra flavor to the mixture.
Steeped in Brazilian funk, “New Sky” conjures up the energizing spiritual vibes of Kamasi Washington, presenting clever modulations while being brilliantly sung by Lynne Fiddmont. The spirit rejoices with hope, not only here but also on the Coltrane-influenced modal pieces “Birds Are Singing” and “Revelations”. Both are passionately carried out with elliptical soprano flights, but while the former is a newly composed waltz, the latter - thriving with Destiny Muhammad’s refreshing harp plucks, Nduduzo Makhathini’s poised piano playing, and Tony Austin’s syncopated cymbal crashes - is taken from the bandleader’s 2009 album Speak the World.
A different kind of emotion lies at the core of pieces such as “Ain’t No Doubt About It”, a R&B effort with inflectional hip-hop vocals by Bre-Z and expeditious tenor phrasing; “Just Because of You”, a classic soul jazz breeze that will make the fans of George Benson and The Earth,Wind & Fire equally happy; “I Really Love You”, in which a gospel melodic thread is appended to the crossover jazz; and the 1975-penned “From The Point of Love”, whose samba flavor is unequivocal. There’s also “Peace and Harmony”, which, featuring a resonant electric bass solo by Sekou Bunch, mixes Latin, R&B and post-bop essences.
The exciting thing about this album is how effortlessly Lawrence adapts to different styles with the same grandiose positivism. New Sky showcases the leader’s eclectic writing and provides a smooth, pleasant listening that comes right on time to appease minds and spirits.
Favorite Tracks:
01 - All in Love ► 03 - New Sky ► 07 - Birds Are Singing