Dustin Laurenzi is a saxophonist, improviser and composer based in Chicago, IL. An active member of the city’s creative music community, he leads and co-leads several projects, including Twin Talk, Edith Judith, Matt Gold + Dustin Laurenzi, Snaketime, and Natural Language.
Laurenzi’s work as a collaborator and sideperson includes projects led by Macie Stewart, Matt Ulery, Katie Ernst, and Juan Pastor. As a recording artist, he has released several albums of his music, including A Better Ghost (2022) with Laurenzi/Cunningham/Bryan on Northern Spy Records, described by DownBeat as "...a moodily poetic and genre-bending jewel...". His long-running collaborative trio Twin Talk released their fourth studio album Twin Talk Live in 2024 on Shifting Paradigm Records.
Laurenzi is a member of songwriter Bill Callahan’s touring band and is featured on Callahan’s albums Resuscitate! (2024) and My Days of 58 (2026). He has also toured with Bon Iver, appearing on the band’s 2016 release 22, A Million, with performances at Coachella, Primavera Sound, and the Hollywood Bowl.
Laurenzi earned a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music in 2011. He has performed/recorded with Bill Callahan, Jeff Parker & The New Breed, Marquis Hill, Makaya McCraven, Matt Ulery, Russ Johnson, Bon Iver, Japanese Breakfast, and This Is The Kit, and has been featured at the Chicago Jazz Festival, the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, and the Kennedy Center. Laurenzi is currently an adjunct music faculty member at University of Wisconsin Parkside.
"Laurenzi has already achieved one of the toughest things to do in jazz without overdoing it: a genuine presence." - Chicago Reader
“...superbly winning...like listening to a human voice.” - Newcity Music
“…a commanding improviser…” - DownBeat Magazine
“It may be cliché to describe Laurenzi's arrangements as having breathed new life into Moondog's music, but incredibly, that's what the saxophonist has managed to do.” - Exclaim!