Musicians :
Azar Lawrence (soprano & tenor saxophone), Jean Carn (vocals), Woody Shaw (trumpet), (Shams) Ray Straughter (wood flute), Woody Murray (vibes), Clint Houston, John Heard (bass), Julian Priester (trombone), Hadley Caliman (flute), Black Arthur (alto saxophone), Joe Bonner (piano), Mtume (conga drums, percussion), Guillerme Franco, Kenneth Nash (percussion), Billy Hart, Ndugu (drums)
Bridge into the New Age is an album by saxophonist Azar Lawrence which was recorded in 1974 and released on the Prestige label.
What do Miles Davis, McCoy Tyner, Elvin Jones, Horace Tapscott, Earth, Wind & Fire, Frank Zappa, Busta Rhymes, Billy Higgins, Chuck Jackson and the lost funk group Chameleon all have in common ? Los Angeles saxophonist Azar Lawrence, that's what.
"Released in 1974 on Prestige, Bridge Into The New Age was the first of three albums Lawrence recorded as a leader for Prestige all before he was 25 (this one when he was a pup of 21). But Lawrence had logged some serious time with Tyner (getting the first notices for his work on the pianist's classic Enlightenment set from 1973). He had also played on Davis's freaky live funk date at Carnegie Hall, released in 1974 as Dark Magus. Beatheads and crate-diggers, the true cultural archeologists of our age, God bless them, have been onto this maddeningly out-of-print licorice pizza for years.
"Hardcore jazz fans were hip to Lawrence and excited about him as a leader. The lineup here is enough to make your mouth drop open in an extended 'Whooooooaaaaaaa': besides the leader playing soprano and tenor saxophones, this date hosts Julian Priester (trombone), Woody Shaw (trumpet), Hadley Caliman (flute), Arthur Blythe (alto saxophone), Joe Bonner (piano), John Heard, Woody Murray, and Clint Houston (variously on bass), Billy Hart (drums), Leon Chancler, Mtume or Kenneth Nash (percussion), and on two tracks, the title and "The Beautiful And Omnipresent Love", the beguiling Jean Carn appears to grace them with her gloriously soulful vocals". - AllMusic