Johan Budi
The contemporary jazz landscape continues to be shaped and elevated by veterans of the genre whose careers span multiple decades of stylistic evolution. Two recent releases, Azar Lawrence’s Turn The Music Up and Wadada Leo Smith’s Constellations And Hemispheres, offer a profound look at the enduring vitality of American improvised music. Released via Trazar Records and Burning Ambulance respectively, these albums capture two distinct visions of jazz composition, arrangement, and performance. While Lawrence leans into a celebratory retrospective of his 1970s spiritual jazz roots combined with global influences, Smith presents a complex, studio-crafted labyrinth of avant-garde composition and sonic exploration. Together, these recordings provide critical insight into the ongoing dialogue between the historical foundations of jazz and its modern, boundless iterations.
Azar Lawrence: Bridging Decades of Spiritual and Straight-Ahead Jazz
Azar Lawrence first cemented his reputation in the annals of jazz history during the early 1970s as a formidable torchbearer of spiritual jazz. His pivotal tenure with pianist McCoy Tyner placed him at the bleeding edge of a movement that sought to expand the emotional and cosmological boundaries of acoustic jazz. However, as shifting economic landscapes and commercial demands made steady work for avant-garde and spiritual jazz practitioners increasingly scarce later in the decade, Lawrence adapted. He expanded his repertoire, lending his saxophone prowess to the backing bands of soul and R&B royalty, including Marvin Gaye and Earth, Wind & Fire.
This diverse career trajectory imbued Lawrence with a unique rhythmic fluency and tonal adaptability that continues to inform his playing today. Currently maintaining a high profile as an integral member of the straight-ahead supergroup The Cookers, Lawrence bridges his past and present on his latest studio effort, Turn The Music Up, released on Trazar Records. Recorded in Venice, California, between 2024 and 2025, the album serves as a conscious retrospective, looking back at his foundational first two solo recordings: 1974’s Bridge Into The New Age and 1975’s Summer Solstice.
The tracklist for Turn The Music Up is a carefully curated journey through Lawrence’s musical lineage. It includes interpretations of material from his own classic catalog alongside a nod to his mentor with a track drawn from McCoy Tyner’s celebrated Atlantis album. Furthermore, Lawrence pays homage to his late friend and collaborator Pharoah Sanders by incorporating a powerful rendition of The Creator Has A Master Plan. This composition, deeply tied to the spiritual jazz canon, has experienced a significant resurgence in contemporary popularity, bolstered by notable modern vocal interpretations from rising artists Tyreek McDole and Ekep Nkwelle.
Ensemble Dynamics and International Collaborations on Turn The Music Up
To bring his retrospective vision to life, Lawrence assembled a fiercely capable septet. The core lineup features trumpeter Brian Swartz, guitarist Taka Mori, pianist and keyboardist Robert Turner, bassist Gerald Brown, and drummer Yayo Morales. Vocalist Lynne Fiddmont also plays a pivotal role across several arrangements, adding a soaring human element to the instrumental interplay.
A distinct highlight of the album’s repertoire is the inclusion of two compositions by the Brazilian composer and guitarist Amaury Tristao: Highway and Novo Ano. Both pieces originally appeared on Lawrence’s 1975 release Summer Solstice, showcasing Lawrence’s long-standing appreciation for Latin American rhythmic and harmonic sensibilities. The interplay between Mori’s guitar and Turner’s keyboard textures on these tracks highlights a seamless blending of Brazilian warmth with American modal jazz structures.
Despite the high caliber of musicianship, critical reception of the album has engaged in nuanced debates regarding arrangement density. Some commentators have observed that the expansive nature of the septet—at times augmented by additional studio guests—threatens to overshadow the intimate spirituality that characterized Lawrence’s early 1970s work. In the broader context of jazz critique, this touches upon the perennial debate of whether minimalism ("less is more") serves improvisational music better than maximalist orchestration.
While the general consensus points to the music as delightful and impeccably performed, certain artistic choices, such as the prominent scat vocals on Highway and the sudden fade ending on the interpretation of Atlantis, have drawn mild scrutiny. Nevertheless, Turn The Music Up stands not necessarily as the singular peak of Lawrence’s recorded output, but as a deeply worthwhile and joyful reaffirmation of a master saxophonist’s enduring legacy.
Turn The Music Up Discography and Personnel:
- Tracks: Highway; Novo Ano; Atlantis; Lost Tribes Of Lemuria; The Creator Has A Master Plan; Fatisha; Summer Solstice (Total Duration: 50:02)
- Personnel: Azar Lawrence (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone); Brian Swartz (trumpet); Taka Mori (guitar); Robert Turner (keyboards); Gerald Brown (bass); Yayo Morales (drums); Lynne Fiddmont (vocals).
- Location and Date: Venice, CA, 2024–2025.
- Label: Trazar Records.
Wadada Leo Smith: Navigating the Complexities of Constellations And Hemispheres
At the other end of the contemporary spectrum lies Wadada Leo Smith’s Constellations And Hemispheres, released via Burning Ambulance. Smith, an octogenarian titan of modern trumpet and composition, delivers an offering that is markedly more knotty, structurally involved, and reliant on post-production creativity than Lawrence’s acoustic warmth. Born into a rich musical tradition, Smith emerged in the late 1960s as a wholly original voice on the trumpet, later becoming a central, driving figure in the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM).
Belonging to the post-Miles Davis vanguard that has dominated avant-garde jazz for decades, Smith’s signature sound is instantly recognizable. His tone possesses a beautifully cloudy, spectral quality, particularly when utilizing mutes. Like his contemporary Anthony Braxton, Smith is remarkably prolific, making selective navigation through his extensive catalog essential for listeners. While his discography is divided between purely improvisational outings—such as his critically acclaimed 2024 Intakt release Angel Falls with pianist Sylvie Courvoisier—and rigorously structured compositional projects, Constellations And Hemispheres firmly emphasizes the latter.
The creation of this album is itself a testament to Smith’s patient, archival approach to music-making. Compiled from sessions spanning a five-year period from 2017 to 2022 in New Haven, Connecticut, the project relies heavily on extensive studio work. Smith weaves together multiple disparate sessions, employing post-production techniques to create a cohesive yet labyrinthine listening experience.
Structural Architecture and Multi-Tiered Ensemble Configurations
The architecture of Constellations And Hemispheres is defined by shifting ensemble configurations and a bold approach to musical environments. The core rhythm and harmonic section features vibraphonist Bobby Naughton, bassists Bill Laswell and Melvin Gibbs, and drummer Pheeroan akLaff. Depending on the specific track, this core is supplemented by a rotating cast of exceptional contributors, including guitarist Lamar Smith, pianist Sylvie Courvoisier, drummer Marcus Gilmore, and percussionists Brian Jarawa Gray and Mauro Refosco.
While the majority of the album’s pieces remain anchored within one specific ensemble setup, the structural centerpiece of the recording is the expansive 22-minute suite titled Dark Matter, Particles Of Light, Mirror Of The Unseen. This ambitious piece fluidly moves between intimate trio settings and massive octet explosions. In doing so, Smith continues a compositional strategy previously explored on his 2023 release Fire Illuminations, masterfully juxtaposing contrasting sonic environments and emotional tensions within a single continuous work.
For listeners willing to immerse themselves in its demanding textures, Constellations And Hemispheres offers a masterclass in long-form composition. It demonstrates that at 85 years old, Smith’s creative faculties remain entirely uncompromised, proving capable of bending studio technology and acoustic improvisation into a unified, visionary statement.
Constellations And Hemispheres Discography and Personnel:
- Tracks: Dark Energy; Lake Tanganyika; Dark Matter, Particles Of Light, Mirror Of The Unseen (22-minute suite); Deep Canyons On Mars; Meditation On Love (Total Duration: 59:11)
- Personnel: Wadada Leo Smith (trumpet); Sylvie Courvoisier (piano); Marcus Gilmore (drums); Bobby Naughton (vibraphone); Lamar Smith (guitar); Bill Laswell (bass); Melvin Gibbs (bass); Mauro Refosco, Brian Jarawa Gray (percussion); Pheeroan akLaff (drums).
- Location and Date: New Haven, CT, 2017–2022.
- Label: Burning Ambulance (Catalog Number: 0785104731547)
Broader Implications for the Contemporary Jazz Landscape
The simultaneous release of Azar Lawrence’s Turn The Music Up and Wadada Leo Smith’s Constellations And Hemispheres highlights the remarkable diversity and health of jazz as a living, breathing art form. On one hand, Lawrence champions the communal, live-in-the-studio energy of spiritual jazz, honoring historical debts to McCoy Tyner and Pharoah Sanders while maintaining an accessible, groove-oriented appeal. On the other hand, Smith pushes the boundaries of form, utilizing modern studio methodologies to construct an intricate, avant-garde masterwork that demands deep active listening.
Both albums reinforce the notion that jazz veterans are not merely resting on their historical laurels, but are actively engaging with their pasts to forge meaningful contemporary statements. Whether through Lawrence’s joyous retrospective of 1970s modal-funk or Smith’s uncompromising exploration of texture and space, these releases ensure that the foundational innovations of the mid-20th-century avant-garde continue to challenge, inspire, and captivate modern audiences.
