Lawrence
Fields

Fields showcases his own dynamic blend of composition and playing in his trios, and his groups are featured internationally. His debut album featuring his trio and solo playing, “To the Surface”, was released to critical acclaim.

Dubbed a rising star by Downbeat, Fields' current groups (the modern/traditional jazz Acoustic Trio and groove-based "Supersonic" Trio) are regularly featured at prominent music venues and festivals worldwide — including recent stops at Zürich's Moods, Vienna's Porgy and Bess, Munich's Unterfahrt, Warsaw's Jassmine, Hamburg's Nica, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club, and Jazz St. Louis.

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 Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah (formerly known as 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 Chief Adjuah (formerly known as Christian Scott) on several albums — including co-writing and co-producing 3 songs on the Grammy-nominated The Emancipation Procrastination, as part of his work on Xian'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, as well as the Grammy-nominated Ancestral Recall, and the Stretch Music and Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah albums.

With Lovano and Douglas, the pianist features on Sound Prints' two critically-acclaimed studio releases: Other Worlds, and Scandal — selected by The Guardian as their #1 jazz album of the year, 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 on Blue Note Records, which featured two new compositions written exclusively for the ensemble by legendary saxophonist Wayne Shorter. He appears on the album Marsalis Music Honors Alvin Batiste alongside Branford Marsalis, Herlin Riley and Russell Malone, as well as on drummer Terri Lyne Carrington's More to Say (a disc for which he served as a pianist, keyboardist, and composer-producer). The pianist has been a member of the Jeff “Tain” Watts band, as well as that of trumpeter Nicholas Payton and saxophonist Jaleel Shaw. 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 Sam Pollard documentary “Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes”, which premiered on PBS' American Masters television series.