Lawrence, Doug(las Marshal)
Lawrence, Doug(las Marshal)
Lawrence, Doug(las Marshal), jazz tenor saxophonist; b. Oct. 11, 1956, Lake Charles, La. The last of six siblings in a family of musicians, he began playing classical music on the clarinet at age eight. At age 13, he picked up his father’s saxophone. At a high school jazz competition, he won a scholarship to North Tex. State Univ. After briefly attending the school, he began his first road work, joining various bands in Dallas, Albuquerque, and Las Vegas. In 1979, the Special Services Band at West Point auditioned over two hundred tenor players before receiving a tape from Lawrence. They invited him to the school, and following a brief audition, offered him a position in their jazz band. Within a few months, he started commuting to N.Y, where he began to gain recognition. In 1986, he moved to Manhattan, where he has performed and recorded with George Benson, George Cables, Buck Clayton, “Wild Bill” Davis, Billy Eckstine, Dizzy Gillespie, Benny Goodman, Scott Hamilton, Lionel Hampton, Barry Harris, Jay McShann, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orch., Sarah Vaughan, Frank Wess, and Nancy Wilson. He has appeared throughout the U.S., Japan, and Europe at virtually every major jazz festival, club, and concert hall. His 1997 bookings included national and international tours with the Count Basie Orch., the Doug Lawrence Band, and numerous bookings as a freelance artist.
Discography
Soul Carnival Featuring the D. L. Quintet (1997); High Heel Sneakers (1999).
—Lewis Porter