Azar Lawrence is an American saxophonist possessed of a big, open soulful tone. He is also a composer and bandleader based in Los Angeles. With a career that stretches more than half a century, he has worked alongside jazz and R&B legends including McCoy Tyner, Miles Davis, and Elvin Jones. Lawrence issued three seminal spiritual jazz-funk outings for Prestige: 1974's Bridge into the New Age, 1975's Summer Solstice, and 1976's People Moving. During the 1980s, he worked extensively with L.A. songwriting and production team Laurin Rinder and W. Michael Lewis, as well as Phyllis Hyman. In 1985 he released the jazz boogie classic Shadow Dancing. After two decades spent struggling with health issues, Lawrence returned to touring and recording in 2006. The Seeker appeared in 2014 and Elementals arrived in 2018. Shadow Dancing was reissued in 2021, and Lawrence released New Sky on his own Trazar Records in 2022.