Who is Laurie?
Laurie Lang is an upright bassist, composer, arranger, educator, and producer whose work centers on creativity, collaboration, and the expressive role of the bass within an ensemble.
For Laurie, creativity begins with observing it in nature and in people, then allowing that to awaken new possibilities in herself and in others. That sense of discovery carries into her music, where jazz becomes a space for both structure and freedom. More than performance alone, Laurie’s work is an invitation into creativity, connection, and shared experience. Through music, she seeks to awaken a sense of belonging, openness, and the possibility of exploring both the musical and the spiritual together.
Laurie began studying upright bass with the great Richard Davis at UW learning so much more about music than just how to play the instrument. Her studies included diving deep into the history of black music in America and studying with Davis made for an all inclusive experience of learning technique, while listening to volumes of recordings and hearing 1st hand stores of jazz legends. This love for jazz music and its history was born, nurtured and launched into the world.
Inspired further by composer-bandleader bassists such as Charlie Haden and Charles Mingus, Laurie approaches the bass as both a rhythmic foundation and a melodic voice. She is drawn to the low tones of the instrument, the movement and groove it creates, and the way it supports and shapes the music as it unfolds.
Laurie performs across a wide spectrum of jazz styles, including traditional New Orleans jazz, swing, hard bop, and avant-garde improvisational music, blending these traditions while remaining open to new ideas and evolving musical conversations.
