Azar Lawrence – Mystic Journey – Furthermore furthermore 004, 63:01****:
(Azar Lawrence – tenor and soprano saxophone, producer; Eddie Henderson – trumpet, flugelhorn; Gerald Hayes – alto saxophone; Benito Gonzalez – piano; Essiet Essiet – bass; Rashied Ali – drums)
Saxophonists who cite John Coltrane’s influence are nothing new. But taking Coltrane’s spirit – and spirituality – and doing something special with it is not as common. Tenor saxophonist Azar Lawrence’s latest album, Mystic Journey, explores his connection to Coltrane’s legacy as well as his own past while showcasing Lawrence’s musical range. During the 1970s Lawrence performed with Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Woody Shaw and others and then spent time with pop and soul artists including Earth, Wind and Fire. After a lengthy hiatus, Lawrence returned to the jazz spotlight half a decade ago. With Mystic Journey Lawrence unleashes his best characteristics and utilizes a crack sextet that summons his vision into reality.
Lawrence is abetted by two other outstanding horn players: trumpeter and Flugelhornist Eddie Henderson and alto saxophonist Gerald Hayes. Pianist Benito Gonzalez adds rhythm and fiery solos and bassist Essiet Essiet provides solid assistance. Worthy of specific mention is drummer Rashied Ali, who passed away a few months after this session. Listening to this hour-long setting it is difficult to imagine anyone else who could have brought the complexity and creativity that Ali furnishes to these transcendental tunes.
The eight tracks are mostly originals: Lawrence penned two, Gonzalez wrote three, Ali contributed one cut and there are two covers. Mystic Journey starts with the enthused title tune. Right from the get-go, Lawrence and the band institute a hard-charging fervor. Just like he did as a member of Coltrane’s ensemble, Ali’s rhythms whirl around the lead instruments, supplying energetic weight behind Lawrence’s furious improvisations and Gonzalez’s ample chords, which run the game from traditional to abstract.
Another Coltrane correlation comes during a riveting rendition of McCoy Tyner’s authoritative “Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit.” The inceptive 1973 version featured a much younger Lawrence. More than three decades later he sounds more confident and in control. While the initial reading was very much Tyner’s vehicle, Lawrence leads this interpretation with swooping sax lines and explosive harmonics. Gonzalez reveals a Tyner-esque appreciation with rolling and stormy textures and Henderson displays a hard bop point of view. One more engaging reworked arrangement is Lawrence’s “Summer Solstice,” which he first released in 1975. This fresh translation can best be described as controlled chaos and has bold support from Hayes and Gonzalez.
The general theme of invocation and faith is also extensively expressed on Gonzalez’s pleasant post-bop piece “Quest,” where Lawrence switches to soprano sax and Henderson moves to flugelhorn. Both horns serve to advance the cut’s amiable, animated manner. Gonzalez’s “Journey’s End” is equally explorative and carries a fine balance between melodic alignment and celestial astuteness. While the rhythm section undertakes maximum pacing the three horns perform unison lines and solo with resolve and agility.
Lawrence demonstrates his ability on ballads with an understated examination of Frank Loesser and Jimmy McHugh’s lovely “Say It Over Again,” which Coltrane also eloquently mastered. Lawrence blows tender tones while the others achieve a slowly shimmering background. While at times the execution seems predictable the ballad does afford a pleasant contrast against the upbeat and mid-tempo tracks.
TrackList:
1. Mystic Journey
2. Summer Solstice
3. Quest
4. Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit
5. Say It Over Again
6. Adrees
7. Journey’s End
8. Starting Point
— Doug Simpson
