Showing posts with label Josh Lawrence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Josh Lawrence. Show all posts

Saturday, November 19, 2022

Josh Lawrence - Call Time

Styles: Trumpet Jazz
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 29:34
Size: 68,5 MB
Art: Front

(0:43) 1. Paradise In Blue
(4:53) 2. Pumpkin Pi
(4:18) 3. Silver's Drag
(3:52) 4. Sam I Am
(5:36) 5. Cornbred
(8:38) 6. Black Bottom's Up
(1:30) 7. Paradise In Blue Reprise

Josh Lawrence is releasing Call Time, his latest Posi-Tone Records project, with seven tracks of a broad palette of qualities and textures. The trumpeter brings a quintet for his fourth album for Posi-Tone, the ever-present Posi-Tone team of bassist Boris Kozlov and pianist Art Hirahara, rounded out with drummer Jason Tiemann and saxophonist Willie Morris. Together the five musicians form a pleasing unit that focuses on group communication and musical expression.

“Paradise In Blue” opens with a rubato melody in which Lawrence’s warm trumpet tone will inspire you to listen to the following selection, “Pumpkin Pi,” a delightful medium swing composition. The two-horn melody is memorable as Lawrence and Morris flow with a relaxed swing. Lawrence’s improvisational style flows from the Miles Davis lineage, where the focus is time feel, melody, and space. His warm tone and clarity of pitch are other highlights of his style. The ensemble swings and Lawrence performs a delightful solo.

Celebrating the hard-bop sound of the 50s is “Black Bottom’s Up.” Lawrence does an excellent job of making the “Oleo” styled approach from the Miles Davis Quintet work very well here. His Harmon mute tone is round and resilient as he mixes blues with bop lines to outline the rhythm changes clearly. Hirahara does not play on this track, and hearing Lawrence and Morris perform with just bass and drums accompaniment lets you hear their harmonic/melodic language.

Call Time is a very musical and stylish set from Lawrence. His tone and melodic approach are modern while still being imbued in the classic 50s and 60s jazz heritage. The ensemble is a strong unit, and everyone plays well with each other and communicates beautifully. Though this is not Lawrence’s regular working ensemble, they still have chemistry, but I do wonder how his regular ensemble would sound performing this set. Lawrence is a beautifully clear trumpet player and one you should have on your radar. By Sylvannia Garutch https://thejazzword.com/2022/09/josh-lawrence-call-time-review/

Personnel: Josh Lawrence – trumpet; Willie Morris – tenor saxophone; Art Hirahara – piano; Boris Kozlov – bass; Jason Tiemann – drums

Call Time

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Josh Lawrence - Roots

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 36:55
Size: 84.5 MB
Styles: Trumpet jazz
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[2:41] 1. 125th Street Intro
[5:26] 2. Queensborough Bridge Stomp
[5:27] 3. Northwest Extension
[4:15] 4. Jacob & Aaron
[6:02] 5. Someday Afternoon
[4:20] 6. One For The Cats
[4:10] 7. Sugar Hill Stroll
[4:30] 8. 145th Street Outro

Josh Lawrence is an internationally acclaimed trumpeter, composer, bandleader and educator. He has performed with artists from Erykah Badu to Charli Persip and toured extensively throughout North America and Europe. His band the Josh Lawrence Jazz 3 fuses influences from New York City and Philadelphia into a fresh new sound called Soul Bop.

Lawrence studied at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and became a popular sideman on the neo-soul and jazz scenes. After graduation, he moved to the historic Sugar Hill neighborhood in Harlem where he was introduced to jazz masters Barry Harris, Frank Lacy, Jimmy Cobb, Lou Donaldson and Olu Dara. He co-founded the Uptown Brass at the Church of the Intercession in Washington Heights, worked as musical director for the band Harlem PsychaDelic and taught on faculty as brass instructor at Bronx Arts and Bronx Lab.

Today Josh Lawrence performs in clubs and festivals across Europe spreading the “gospel of American jazz”. His duo project with pianist Reggie Moore is receiving critical praise in Germany, his work with Adam Baldych’s Damage Control is garnering rave reviews throughout Poland and the Jazz 3 tours are establishing him as a bright new star on the international stage. He has just released his second album Roots and continues to teach students of all ages through master class programs.

Roots