Doug Lawrence

A fine tenor saxophonist who has been a valuable sidemen in many settings, Doug Lawrence finally led his debut CD in 1997, Soul Carnival (Fable). Everyone in Lawrence’s family played music (including his father, who played saxophone, and his five older siblings). He started playing classical clarinet when he was eight, switching to jazz alto five years ago. Lawrence attended North Texas State University briefly but soon dropped out to go on the road with a Dallas band, playing tenor. In 1979 he joined the Special Services Band at West Point. In 1986 he moved to New York where he has since played with Benny Goodman (starting with the Loren Schoenberg Orchestra that Goodman took over), Buck Clayton’s big band, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Jay McShann, Sarah Vaughan, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and many others. In 1997 he was an occasional sub with the Count Basie Orchestra. Lawrence has also recorded with the DMP Big Band and Buck Clayton's Swing Band; his solo High Heel Sneakers followed in 1999. ~ Scott Yanow