Biography
Doug Lawrence, a skilled tenor saxophonist long prized for his work as a sideman across diverse ensembles, made his first appearance as a leader with the 1997 release Soul Carnival on Fable. Music filled his household, where his father played saxophone alongside Lawrence’s five older siblings. He took up classical clarinet at eight before turning to jazz alto five years later. After a short stint at North Texas State University, he left to tour with a Dallas band on tenor. In 1979 Lawrence enlisted in the Special Services Band at West Point. His 1986 move to New York led to engagements with Benny Goodman, beginning in the Loren Schoenberg Orchestra that Goodman later directed, as well as Buck Clayton’s big band, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Jay McShann, Sarah Vaughan, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, and many other groups. He served as an occasional substitute with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1997. Additional recordings include appearances with the DMP Big Band and Buck Clayton’s Swing Band; the solo album High Heel Sneakers appeared in 1999.
Albums
