Pierce Street series to showcase jazz great Azar Lawrence

Lawrence is a former Miles Davis sideman, performing artist and recording industry songwriter. His credits include extensive work with such legends as Muddy Waters, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, as well as work with pop and rhythm and blues icons Frank Zappa, Busta Rhymes, Roberta Flack, Marvin Gaye, and many others. During the 1980s he wrote for and performed with renowned multi-genre band, Earth, Wind & Fire, and worked on Marvin Gaye’s Grammy-winning album, “Hear My Dear.”

He began his career while a teenager, performing professional gigs with such jazz titans as Waters, Clark Terry and the Horace Tapscott Arkestra, among others. He also performed with powerhouse acts Ike & Tina Turner and War. At age 20, he joined the renowned Jones band, Jazz Machine, and a few years later joined Tyner’s group. At Davis’ invitation, he then joined the legendary trumpet player’s ensemble and performed and recorded “Dark Magus” live at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

In recent years, Lawrence has released several albums including Sunnyside Records’ “The Seeker” in 2014, a co-production with Grammy winner Seth Abramson. The album, recorded live at the Jazz Standard in New York, was nominated for a Grammy award. While pursuing recording and composition projects, Lawrence continues to perform in venues around the United States and is planning a European tour this summer.

For his Pierce Street Jazz performance, Lawrence will be joined by jazz industry virtuosos Henry “the Skipper” Franklin on bass, Ramon Banda on drums, and Theo Saunders on piano.

Pierce Street Jazz is held at the Troesh Conference Center in La Sierra’s Zapara School of Business. The show begins at 7 p.m. Admission is free. For further information call 951-785-2148. La Sierra University is located at 4500 Riverwalk Parkway, Riverside. A campus map is available at https://lasierra.edu/campus-map/.