Lawrence Barris

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Lawrence started playing the guitar at a very youg age,started working in and around Detroit at 13 years of age with an R&B group, "The Black Nasty." About seven years later, he worked with Detroit jazz greats Marcus Belgrave, Donald Walden, Wendell Harrison, Bobby Wright and Rod Lumpkin.

Around 14 years of age, he started playing pop tunes — such as Roberta Flack's, "Feel Like Making Love", Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On", The Isley Bros. "For The Love Of You" — "turning them into instrumentals with me playing the melody on guitar — I thought I invented what today is called smooth jazz."

I have worked, and/or performed with George Benson, The Supremes, Ben E. King, The 5th Dimension, George Burns, Joan Rivers, Earl Klugh, Joe Sample, Richard 'Groove' Holmes, Jack McDuff, Dave MacMurry, Fabian, Little Anthony & The Imperials, David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks and others.

The artists that made a huge impression on me include Wes Montgomery, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, Sergio Mendes, Brasil 66, Earth, Wind & Fire, Ohio Players, George Benson, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Sammy Davis, Jr., Charlie 'Bird' Parker, Frank Sinatra, Earl Klugh, Marvin Gaye, Barbra Striesand, Keith Jarrett, Dionne Warwick, Tower Of Power, Donny Hathaway — the list goes on and on...