Color Theory Josh Lawrence

• 1Yellow01:02
• 2Presence05:19
• 3The Ripoff05:33
• 4Red!05:18
• 5The Conceptualizer05:27
• 6Green05:18
• 7Black07:05
• 8An Uptown Romance04:30
• 9Purple (4 Prince)07:45
• 10Blue05:32
• 11On the Yangtze04:31
• Total Runtime57:20

Info for Color Theory

Lawrence's new leader record Color Theory showcases his original compositions and is meant to be reflections of the entire color spectrum. The musical program covers several hues and shades with an exciting and evocative presentation of Lawrence's amazing new original compositions. The album features saxophonist Caleb Curtis, pianists Orrin Evans & Adam Faulk, bassist Madison Rast, and drummer Anwar Marshall.

"Either way, it stands in stark contrast to the follow-up “Presence,” a bruising hard-bopper that features stellar interplay between Lawrence and his frontline partner, saxophonist Caleb Curtis. “RED!” comes close to matching that intensity, courtesy of some explosive drumming by Anwar Marshall and a brilliantly sculpted solo by pianist Orrin Evans, with whom Lawrence plays in the Captain Black Orchestra. “Green” and “Blue” dial the intensity down into the mellow zone, with keyboardist Adam Faulk contributing a fuzzy Rhodes sound, while “Black” and “Purple (4 Prince)” inhabit deeper, smokier vibes. Equally slow-burning are “The Ripoff” and “The Conceptualizer,” which layer silky trumpet-sax harmonies over mounds of punchy bass. Closer “On The Yangtze” brings the album full circle, its sparse arrangement allowing plenty of room for listeners to color in their own emotions." (Brian Zimmerman, downbeat.com)

"Josh Lawrence is too much of a balladeer to dwell on despair and melancholia. This becomes eminently clear in the translucent beauty of “An Uptown Romance”, a gorgeous song where Lawrence’s trumpet makes great balletic leaps and pirouettes. His musical gymnastics is shared by the rest of the exquisite ensemble as they apply just the right amount of heat to the colours so they melt, one into the other, linked by abstractions such as “Presence” and subterfuge on “The Ripoff”, then narratives such as “The Conceptualizer” (is it Prince?), although I can hardly find a better one – musically – than Josh Lawrence, who brings everything back together “On The Yangtze” – the great “Yellow River”, a marvellously metaphor for this memorable album." (Raul da Gama, worldmusicreport.com)

Josh Lawrence, trumpet
Caleb Curtis, saxophone
Brent White, trombone
Orrin Evans, piano
Adam Faulk, Fender Rhodes
Madison Rast, bass
Anwar Marshall, drums

Josh Lawrence
is the founder of Color Theory, a jazz ensemble for which he composes works fusing swing, the blues, Afro-Cuban music, and hip-hop. Lawrence uses sound to paint expressionist portraits and landscapes inspired by art, architecture, philosophy, and social observation.

Lawrence's new record Contrast (2018, Posi-Tone) uses both his instrument and his skills as a bandleader to succeed in making another inspired statement exploring several different musical avenues with his Color Theory project. The album features saxophonist Caleb Curtis, pianists Orrin Evans & Zaccai Curtis, bassist Luques Curtis, and drummer Anwar Marshall.

Color Theory’s 2017 debut Posi-Tone Records release led to a Chamber Music America New Jazz Works award for his Lost Works Suite (premiering 2018) inspired by painter and art theorist Vasily Kandinsky's first three compositions which were destroyed during World War II.

Now living in New York, Lawrence studied at the University of the Arts in his hometown Philadelphia. There he co-founded the Fresh Cut Orchestra, an experimental electro-jazz ensemble that won a Pew Center Philadelphia Music Project grant, an American Composers Forum Subito grant, a Kimmel Center Jazz Residency, and released two albums with Ropeadope Records. Lawrence is also the co-founder of oljo creative minds, a NY-based multimedia production company started in partnership with designer/photographer Ola Baldych. Other work includes collaborations with pianist Orrin Evans' Captain Black Big Band and Tarbaby as well as recordings with saxophonist Caleb Curtis, bassist Jonathan Michel, vocalist Laurin Talese, guitarist Matt Davis' Aerial Photograph , R&B legends Boyz II Men, and the great Erykah Badu.

This album contains no booklet.