Episode #147: Lawrence Fields

Improv Exchange Podcast

Lawrence Fields, born and bred in St. Louis, has earned a spot at the forefront of young jazz pianists, thanks to his blending of vintage ideals with a contemporary mindset. For the last five years, in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, and 2019, Downbeat Magazine has placed him close to the top of the keyboardist category in their “Rising Stars” critics poll. Fields showcase his dynamic blend of composition and playing in his trio and quartet, and his music is currently being featured internationally. His debut album featuring his trio and solo playing, “To the Surface”, was released to critical acclaim on February 2, 2024.

Veteran saxophone icon Joe Lovano – with his unerring ear for youthful talent – has become one of the pianist’s biggest fans. Fields is a member of several bands led or co-led by Lovano: his Classic Quartet (originally featuring Lewis Nash and George Mraz in the rhythm section); the Sax Supreme Quartet (with Chris Potter); and his Sound Prints quintet with trumpeter Dave Douglas. The Wall Street Journal praised Fields’ “elegant, probing” solos with Sound Prints, while The New York Times noted that he is “integral to the band’s plunging, changeable style.” A modern-minded bandleader from the younger generation also relies on Fields, as he mans the piano and keyboards for the Christian Scott Group. Referencing his role on acoustic and electric pianos in the trumpeter’s band, NextBop said: “Fields remains a constant lyrical presence on the keys – innovative, expressive, supportive, able to soar like a bird in his solos. He never fails to impress.”

Fields has collaborated with Christian Scott on several albums — including co-writing and co-producing 3 songs on the Grammy-nominated The Emancipation Procrastination (Ropeadope, 2017), as part of his work on Christian’s Centennial Trilogy with releases Diaspora and Ruler Rebel. He features prominently in the piano and keyboard chairs on Christian’s Grammy-nominated live recording Axiom (2020), as well as the Grammy-nominated Ancestral Recall (2019), and the Stretch Music (Ropeadope, 2015) and Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah (Concord, 2012) albums.

With Lovano and Douglas, the pianist features on Sound Prints’ two critically-acclaimed studio releases: Other Worlds (2021), and Scandal (2018, Greanleaf) — selected by The Guardian as their #1 jazz album of 2018, as well as one of Rolling Stone’s top 20 jazz albums of the year. Fields also plays on the live album Sound Prints: Live at Monterey Jazz Festival (Blue Note, 2015), which featured two brand-new compositions written for the ensemble by the legendary Wayne Shorter. He appears on the album Marsalis Music Honors Alvin Batiste (2007) alongside Branford Marsalis, Herlin Riley and Russell Malone, as well as on drummer Terri Lyne Carrington’s More to Say (a 2009 disc for which he served as a pianist, keyboardist, and composer-producer). Fields also appears on releases by drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts, bassist Yasushi Nakamura, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, and saxophonists Jaleel Shaw and Steve Slagle. The pianist has been a member of the Watts band, as well as that of trumpeter Nicholas Payton. In addition to performing onstage with the likes of Payton, Watts, Marsalis, and Carrington, Fields has appeared with star bassist Christian McBride, drummer Nate Smith, trombonist Delfeayo Marsalis, trumpeter Takuya Kuroda, and bassist Robert Hurst, among others.

Lawrence's playing is also featured on Christopher North's score for the new Sam Pollard documentary "Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes", which premiered in Fall 2023 on PBS' American Masters television series.