Andrew Lawrence is one of the top-call pianists and keyboardists for live performances and recordings in the Chicago-area. A native of Chicago, Andrew started classical piano studies at the age of five. After being selected to the Ravinia Jazz Scholars program in 2003-2005, and receiving the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award in 2005, Andrew attended the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, OH, where he studied both jazz and classical piano. He was accepted into Oberlin’s top jazz ensemble, the Oberlin Jazz Septet, which toured and played such venues as Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in NYC. He graduated with a BA in Jazz Performance in 2009.
Andrew's fluidity with classical and jazz piano, in addition to keyboards and synthesizers, has allowed him to perform with a wide variety of artists in a broad range of styles. He has played piano with such artists as Makaya McCraven, Matt Ulery, and Sean Jones and the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra. His Rhodes Electric Piano, Hammond Organ, and analog synth playing can be heard in the progressive rock band District 97, which has tourednationally and internationally, playing shows across the USA, Canada, the EU and the UK. They performed on the Cruise to the Edge in 2017, 2019 and will be back again in 2022.
In addition to playing with District 97 since 2015, Andrew splits his time between the indie band Bonelang, a weekly residency at aliveOne in Chicago with the jazz/fusion band Bonzo Squad, and his most recent project, the Andrew Lawrence Trio. His debut solo album, "Trialogue," was released in January 2019, and rose to #8 on the Roots Music Reports jazz charts.
"His playing on this generous, sixteen-track release is virtuosic, his enthusiastic engagement equaled by his inspired partners, and the high- wire spirit pervading the faster numbers makes for exciting music."