The saxophonist joins us to discuss 'Turn the Music Up,' the friendship with Pharoah Sanders behind its central tribute, and why he refuses to think of the jazz lineage as something outside himself.
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This week we're putting The Tonearm's needle on tenor saxophonist Azar Lawrence.
Lawrence is a veteran of Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner's bands and a leader of his own group, The Azar Lawrence Experience, whose new album, 'Turn the Music Up,' arrives September 25th.
We talk about his unique relationship with Pharoah Sanders, dodging McCoy Tyner’s broken piano strings, and how the fifty years between the first and latest recordings of his own songs trace his evolution as a musician.
(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Azar Lawrence’s forthcoming album, 'Turn The Music Up')
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00:00 Introduction
00:57 Fifty years between two versions of "Summer Solstice"
02:22 The sambas are the sambas: rhythm and authenticity
03:50 Bandleader or sideman: the Cookers and a life among peers
07:11 "I don't observe the lineage, I am it"
09:20 Why McCoy Tyner stayed acoustic
10:52 Black classical music, and owning up to the funk
11:36 Baldwin Hills, the Beach Boys, and a mother who made him practice
13:55 From violin to the first alto saxophone
16:39 Pharoah Sanders: spiritual study, food runs, and a mouthpiece
22:01 "The Creator Has a Master Plan" as tribute, not cover
24:37 The night McCoy sat in with Elvin at the Vanguard
25:49 Turn the Music Up: his brother, his mother, and the music at the end
27:41 What he's still trying to pass on
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Visit Azar Lawrence at https://azarlawrence.com
and follow on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/azar.lawrence_
Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/AzarLawrenceMusic
and YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCraXiFb2UKsQWOckhzEwrvg
'Turn the Music Up' (Trazar Records, September 25, 2026) — artist shop → https://azarlawrence.com/shop
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