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Hometown: Bethlehem, PA
Website: mikelorenzmusic.com
Sounds Like: Kurt Rosenwinkel, Brian Blade, Jim Hall, Paul Motian
Genre: Jazz
Mike Lorenz, guitarist/composer/bandleader, is an up-and-coming musician from Bethlehem, PA. He leads an original jazz quartet, the Mike Lorenz Quartet, which features some of the most in-demand musicians in the Philadelphia area performing his original compositions. The group released its first full length album, Of the Woods, in December of 2011. As the title suggests, the music comes from a place between the urbane nature of jazz and the open spaces of Lorenz's upbringing in Upper Bucks County, PA.
The band's music exists between the innovations of modern jazz, the experiments of free jazz and the avant garde and the feeling of post-bop and bebop.
Mike has led his band in performance at Smalls Jazz Club and SIM 10th Anniversary Festival in New York City, Chris’ Jazz Cafe, Ars Nova Workshop/Sci Fi Philly series, Tritone and the Moonstone Arts Center in Philadelphia and Musikfest 2012 in Bethlehem, PA, the largest free music festival in the country.
“the group have produced a debut (Of the Woods) that tips its hat to the melodic complexity of post-bop, while giving it a distinctly modern flair with subtly avant-garde innovations”
Zivit Shlank - Phawker
“Working within the melodically edgy orbit of such role models as Ben Monder and Kurt Rosenwinkel, he can float by on chordal clouds or stun you with quick flashes of linear brilliance…Lorenz’s quartet comes at the material with a sense of whimsy and seasoned trust.”
David R. Adler - Philly Weekly
“On his debut, Of The Woods, Philadelphia guitarist Mike Lorenz shows not only his guitar skills, but his gifted compositional talents as well. With an innovative sound combining modern, free, and bebop jazz styles, Of the Woods is an easy listen while, at the same time, pushing new boundaries of jazz.”
Wade Luquet - All About Jazz
“I often like to refer to Brian Blade‘s epic Season of Changes as the vanguard example of what nu-jazz has come to be… non-repetitive melodies more akin to storytelling than formulaic poetry and indie rock conventions in a modern jazz framework. But there are others that have adopted that sound, many to impressive effect. Enter guitarist Mike Lorenz’s Of the Woods, a nice series of tunes with understated tension built over machine gun rhythms.”
J. Edward Keyes - Bird is the Worm/17 dots
“He (Lorenz) released a tasty, sparkly record in early November called Of The Woods. It’s very autumnal and wintry. Fireside slow-burners.”
Elliott Sharp - Philadelphia Weekly
