Azar Lawrence - Summer Solstice (Remastered) (2019) [Hi-Res]

A beautiful album of spiritual soul and Brazilian influenced jazz from Azar Lawrence – and a pretty rare one we're thrilled to have! Lawrence is a stellar sax player with a sound that's a bit like Gary Bartz, which means that he fits in perfectly with the Fantasy-era Prestige Records sound – but the sounds on this set are uncommonly rich and globally influenced. The set's predominantly acoustic, with lots of modal grooves in kind of a Strata East vein – and angular post-Coltrane playing that's very similar to Bartz's work on the Libra album from his early days. Players include Raul De Souza on trombone, Ron Carter on bass, Billy Hart on drums, Dom Salvador, who is really allowed to shine on piano on a few tracks, and drummer & percussionist Guilherme Franco, who brings a world of wonderful percussion on a couple of numbers.

Azar Lawrence - soprano and tenor sax, percussion
Raul de Souza - trombone
Gerald Hayes - flute
Amaury Tristao - acoustic guitar
Dom Salvador - piano
Ron Carter - bass
Guilherme Franco - drums, percussion
Albert Dailey - piano
Billy Hart - drums