Mike Lawrence

“Mike Lawrence was a great natural player and composer… and a good friend. His death was a shock to me and I’ll miss him.” – Michael Brecker (1949-2007) 

In a perfect world, a 2023 re-release of Nightwind, the 1987 debut album by the gifted trumpeter and composer Mike Lawrence, would be an occasion for looking back over decades of remarkable music. Instead, this welcome release marks the 40th anniversary of Lawrence’s sudden and tragic death from cancer at the far too young age of 37.

Prior to his passing, Lawrence had been well on his way toward establishing himself as one of the era’s most revered instrumentalists. At just 21 years old he was enlisted by Joe Henderson, appearing on the legendary saxophonist’s landmark albums The Kicker (1967) and Power to the People (1969) alongside icons like Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter and Jack DeJohnette.  

He went on to join the seminal bands French Toast (featuring Michel Camilo) and Larry Coryell’s The Eleventh House, where he replaced Randy Brecker. When he heard the news, Coryell recalled in his memoir, Brecker “was over the moon – he said, ‘Hey, he’s better than me!’” (Trumpet great Lew Soloff was even more blunt in his assessment: “I met Mike Lawrence when he was 19 years old and he scared the shit out of me!”) 

Keyboard legend Bob James recorded two of Lawrence’s pieces, a testament to the trumpeter’s immense compositional talents. “Roberta” appeared on 1982’s Hands Down, “Quietly Crazy for You” on The Swan two years later. “Mike had an extraordinary talent,” James wrote in his liner notes for Nightwind. “His solos were charmed; thoughtful, magical, powerful, enchanted.”

Lawrence also recorded or toured with such greats as Eddie Palmieri, Gil Evans, Bob Moses and Horace Silver, and was a vital presence on the NYC session scene as well as on the stages at famed venues including Seventh Avenue South and Mikell’s. He was poised to make a major impact on the contemporary jazz scene, as did so many of the artists who played in his bands: Michael Brecker, Kenny Kirkland, Lyle Mays, Steve Jordan and Marcus Miller among them. Then in September 1982 Lawrence felt a pain in his arm that he chalked up to a tennis injury; he was gone less than three months later. 

Originally released in 1987, Nightwind was a true labor of love, nurtured into existence by the persistence of the trumpeter’s widow, Roberta Lawrence. Starting from a selection of tracks recorded by Mike between 1977 and 1980, Roberta gathered a stellar collection of musicians to fully realize her late husband’s vision. The album includes contributions from pianists/keyboardists Herbie Hancock, Bob James, Kenny Kirkland and Clifford Carter; saxophonist Michael Brecker; guitarist Hiram Bullock; vocalist Lani Groves; bassists Anthony Jackson and Will Lee; drummers Steve Gadd, Dave Weckl, Steve Jordan and Chris Parker; and percussionists Doc Gibbs and Pablito Rosario.

Crafting a full-fledged album from Lawrence’s original demos was a daunting feat, especially for a relative novice to the recording process like Roberta. The trumpeter’s playing was stellar throughout, but the backing tracks were little more than the makeshift demos they were intended to be; Roberta determined to surround Mike’s playing with musicians who could match his artistry. “A lot of surgery went into making this record,” Roberta laughs. “I’m so grateful that the musical community really got behind me on this project.” 

“Tilt” is just one example of how complex that process could be. Herbie Hancock, who like all the musicians on Nightwind donated his time in Lawrence’s honor, was in the process of filming Bertrand Tavernier’s Round Midnight in Paris at the time of the recordings. He flew into New Jersey and recorded a jaw-dropping piano solo to the original backing tracks. Roberta went on to complete the track with Will Lee, Steve Gadd and Doc Gibbs – or so she thought; when Hancock heard the full band he insisted on rerecording his solo, managing to top himself in the process. 

Hancock also insisted on adding a funky clavinet part to the title track, which also features James on piano with Anthony Jackson and Clifford Carter, climaxing in a soaring Lawrence solo. (“You had me play on the hard song,” Roberta remembers Hancock saying. “I want to play on the fun song.”)

The album is full of such delights: the infectious “Believe It!” with a characteristically electrifying Michael Brecker solo, followed by Lawrence’s joyous turn and a shimmering Kenny Kirkland synth statement; the cosmic “Is It Safe?” with Pablito Rosario on a homemade instrument that lends a tubular bells sound to the tapestry; Lawrence’s transportive ballad playing on “When the Lights Go Out;” the scintillating “Roberta,” with the dream team of Lawrence, Brecker, James, Jackson and Gadd; Roberta’s winsome vocal on “If I Had Love,” paired by Lawrence’s caressing solo.

The new release also features two bonus tracks: the disco-ball funk of “Queen of the Stardust Ballroom,” including sassy vocals and Hiram Bullock, Will Lee and Steve Jordan around the time they were beginning their tenure on Late Night with David Letterman; and Bob James’ recording of “Quietly Crazy for You,” which Mike never had the chance to record himself.

The return of Nightwind will kick off a series of new releases that will shine an overdue spotlight on Mike Lawrence’s legacy. Four albums of previously unreleased music will follow in 2024, including long-lost studio cuts and live recordings with iconic saxophonists Michael Brecker and David Sanborn.

“I made a promise to Mike in the hospital that I would ensure that every song that he ever wrote found its way out into the world,” Roberta says. “40 years later, it’s a promise that I am still devoted to keeping.”