LamboLaw Jazz Duet makes really good music! Visitors to Wiscasset Art Walk on Thursday, July 30 from 4 to 7 p.m., will be treated to a free sidewalk performance of familiar and original jazz tunes played by two accomplished Maine-based musicians.  LamboLaw has been the featured WAW performer previously and, when not on the sidewalk, Lamb and Lawlor are frequently playing in Village galleries during WAW evenings. 

Neil Lamb, a Maine native and resident of Brunswick, and Dave Lawlor, a resident of Gardiner, both found their passion for jazz as youth. And both men took a long hiatus from their music during their mid-adult years - Lamb in a family business, and Lawlor in social services including as executive director of Mobius in Damariscotta.

“I’ve been at it a long time,” Lawlor said, “but really jumped in after retirement. The environment of the Art Walk lends itself to playing jazz. It’s art supporting art.”

Lamb agrees; the audience is attentive and they feel valued as jazz musicians. “People are having a good time. Our music is connecting with people; they are smiling and happy.”

“While gallery playing is mellow so you can focus on your playing,” explains Lawlor, he enjoys being part of the diversity of sidewalk activities which attract and entertain. The down side? “Sometimes an 18-wheeler drives by, but that never lasts long. We just keep playing.” And they are improvising during their sidewalk concert. "If it seems smooth while we’re improvising, that’s a positive," says Lawlor. “You want to sound good all the time.”

Maine offers a variety of opportunities to grow and stretch as a musician. Lamb has a professional-grade recording studio in his home and, although personal computers now allow for more DIY recording, he continues to record other musicians and experiment with his own music, “inventing the sounds” he wants to play and developing his own variations to standard tunes.

Lawlor takes occasional Master Class lessons remotely. He prepares by identifying “a new path” that he wants to explore, e.g. pentatonic (5-note) scales. His method is to “practice, execute, then get it in a semi-conscious repository so you can pull it up at the right time & use it when appropriate.”

During the July Wiscasset Art Walk, LamboLaw will be premiering original music that the duo is writing for a new CD of 100% original tunes. They are scheduled for an October concert in Johnson Hall, Gardiner, and hope that it will be a CD release party!

For more information: www.wiscassetartwalk.org or wiscassetartwalk@gmail.com.  Wiscasset Art Walk is a program of Wiscasset Creative Alliance.