Sam Lazar

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Sam Lazar (born 1933) was a pianist and Hammond organist originally from St. Louis, Missouri. His first LP on Argo Records approximates his birth year as 1933. Initially a pianist, Lazar played in Ernie Wilkins group before Wilkins left St. Louis to join Count Basie. This was followed by a stint in George Hudson's big band which also included Clark Terry and Jimmy Forrest at various times. After a tour with alto saxophonist Tab Smith, Lazar was in the army from 1951-1953. Upon discharge, he began studying medical technology.

In 1958, Lazar saw the Jimmy Smith trio at the Peacock Alley club in St. Louis and was inspired to play the Hammond organ and return to music. His St. Louis-based organ combo later included guitarists Grant Green, Joe Diorio, George Eskridge, drummer Chauncey Williams and saxophonist Miller Brisker among others. Not only did the group play a variety of gigs from strip clubs to jazz clubs, but they were reportedly one of the first interracial combos in the area.

After a single on Cawthron Records, Lazar went on to record several albums in the 1960s for the Chicago-based Argo Records. His first, Space Flight, was recorded in 1960 and added bassist Willie Dixon to his regular working combo featuring Williams and fellow St. Louis musician Grant Green.^[1]^[2]

Discography

Space Flight (Argo, 1960)
Playback (Argo, 1962)
Soul Merchant (Argo, 1962)

References

↑ Bob Porter (1980). Oleo. Blue Note Records. (original liner notes from Blue Note LP Oleo by Grant Green)
↑ "Sam Lazar : Space Flight - Listen, Review and Buy at ARTISTdirect". 2007-05-21. Retrieved 2007-05-27.

Persondata
Name	Lazar, Sam
Alternative names
Short description	American musician
Date of birth	1933
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death

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