Azar Lawrence + Cécile McLorin Salvant

Azar Lawrence Quartet: John Coltrane, the Impulse Era! Azar Lawrence (tenor saxophone), Benito Gonzales (piano), Essiet Essiet (double bass), Brandon Lee (drums) On the 100th anniversary of John Coltrane's birth, fellow tenor saxophonist Azar Lawrence pays tribute to him accompanied by three of the best musicians on the West Coast scene in the United States. Lawrence, with close professional ties to Coltrane's pianist during the Impulse era, McCoy Tyner, has chosen to pay tribute to the jazz giant with the aesthetics he knows best, that of the years when "Trane" laid the foundations for the most convulsive revolution in jazz with daring, avant-garde positions. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Azar began studying piano at the age of five and saxophone at 10. At 17, his prodigious talent earned him a place in drummer Elvin Jones' ensemble, where he absorbed the rhythmic and harmonic freedom that defined the post-Coltrane revolution. By 21, he had worked with Ike & Tina Turner, War and Charles Wright's Watts 103rd Street Band. Soon after, Coltrane's legendary pianist McCoy Tyner invited Azar to join his group, a collaboration that led to three landmark albums and world tours that established Azar as one of the leading voices of his generation. He was also briefly a member of Miles Davis' band, recording the iconic live album Dark Magus (1974) and, in those years, worked with stars such as Roberta Flack and Marvin Gaye. During the 1970s and 1980s, Azar became a highly appreciated artist by many of the most innovative figures in Jazz: Miles Davis, Pharoah Sanders, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Maurice White, Jaco Pastorius.... These collaborations shaped a distinctive sound that fused spiritual intensity with lyricism and groove. From his early recordings with Tyner and Jones to his current projects as a leader and collaborator, Azar Lawrence stands as a bridge between generations, between the sacred and the modern. A musician who has maintained, throughout his career, a musical philosophy centred on the search for knowledge and truth. With his expansive and spiritual sound, he continues to represent the purest connection between the Coltranian tradition and the new dimensions of contemporary Jazz. Cécile McLorin Salvant Cécile McLorin Salvant (voice), Sullivan Fortner (piano), Yasushi Nakamura (double bass), Kyle Poole (drums) Composer, singer and visual artist, Cécile McLorin Salvant has established herself as one of the most unique and visionary voices in contemporary jazz. Her art stems from a deep passion for storytelling and exploring the connections between jazz, vaudeville, blues, folk traditions, theatre and baroque music. With impeccable technique, boundless imagination, luminous musicality and a wide and varied repertoire, the American artist is able to transport us to beautiful soundscapes where emotion and theatricality coexist in absolute freedom. Winner of the Thelonious Monk Competition in 2010, Salvant has been honoured with three Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Album for The Window (2018), Dreams and Daggers (2017) y For One To Love (2015). In 2020 he received the MacArthur Fellowship and the Doris Duke Artist Award, recognitions that underline his creativity and influence on the international music scene. His works Ghost Song (2022) y Mélusine (2023), reflect his eclectic spirit and his ability to reinvent tradition with a contemporary outlook. Mélusine, sung mainly in French, alongside Occitan, English and Haitian Creole, is a work that transcends genres and languages, and confirms Salvant as an artist without borders. A complete artist, Salvant also develops her visual side through large textile drawings and projects such as Ogresse, a musical fable that mixes folk, jazz, baroque and country, which is currently in the process of being adapted for film. In his latest album, Oh Snap (2025), McLorin Salvant explores new sonic territories, combining jazz, folk, pop and electronica with her unmistakable voice. Each track reveals, once again, her talent for reinvention and her artistic courage. McLorin Salvant is an artist capable of transmitting emotions straight to the heart, a creative whirlwind and one of the best voices of our time.