Hubert Laws

Biography

Hubert Laws was born on November 10, 1939, in Houston, Texas, where he grew up across from a honky-tonk called Miss Mary's Place.[8] He began playing flute in high school after volunteering to substitute for the school orchestra's regular flutist.[2] While developing his classical technique, Laws became adept at jazz improvisation through the Houston-area jazz group the Swingsters, which eventually evolved through several iterations—the Modern Jazz Sextet, the Night Hawks, and ultimately The Jazz Crusaders (1954–60)—where he was a member at just 15 years old.[2][3] After high school, Laws enrolled at Texas Southern University but left to travel to Los Angeles with the Modern Jazz Sextet, where he subsequently won a scholarship to the prestigious Juilliard School of Music in New York City.[3]

At Juilliard, Laws studied under master flutist Julius Baker while simultaneously building his professional career by performing evenings with jazz and Latin musicians including Mongo Santamaria (1963–67), John Lewis, and classical orchestras such as Orchestra USA and the Berkshire Festival Orchestra.[2][5] In 1964, he began recording as a bandleader for Atlantic Records, releasing albums including The Laws of Jazz, Flute By-Laws, and Laws' Cause.[2][3] The early 1970s marked the watershed of his jazz career with a series of highly regarded albums on the CTI label, including Crying Song, Wild Flower, Morning Star, At Carnegie Hall, and Chicago Theme.[3] His 1971 CTI recording Rite of Spring, featuring a string section and jazz luminaries such as Airto Moreira, Jack DeJohnette, Bob James, and Ron Carter, earned him recognition from classical music audiences.[3]

Throughout his career spanning over 50 years, Laws became one of the few classical artists to master jazz, pop, and rhythm-and-blues genres with equal facility.[2][6] He has appeared as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, and symphony orchestras in Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Cleveland, Amsterdam, Japan, and Detroit.[6][8] Laws has performed annually at Carnegie Hall, sold-out performances at the Hollywood Bowl with flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal, and appeared at major jazz festivals including Montreux, Playboy, and Kool.[6][7] He received the 2011 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Award and earned three Grammy nominations.[4][7] Beyond performing, Laws founded his own music publishing companies—Hulaws Music and Golden Flute Music—and established Spirit Productions in 1976 to produce his own albums and those of emerging artists.[3]

Fun Facts

• Laws grew up across from a honky-tonk called Miss Mary's Place in Houston, Texas, where his grandfather played harmonica and his mother played gospel music, providing early musical influences.[8]
• He began playing flute by accident—volunteering to substitute for the school orchestra's regular flutist in high school, which launched his classical training.[2]
• Laws secured his first paid performance in New York at Sugar Ray's Lounge in Harlem through a phone call that set up the gig, and he recalls never being unemployed after that initial opportunity.[5]
• He is one of the very few musicians to specialize on the flute as a primary instrument in jazz while simultaneously maintaining a distinguished classical career, moving effortlessly between both worlds.[5]

Associated Acts

• CTI All-Stars
• New York Jazz Quartet

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Julius Baker - Master flutist who provided formal classical training at Juilliard School of Music (Private instruction in flute technique and classical repertoire) [Early 1960s (while at Juilliard)]
• Clement Barone - Private instructor who had a profound effect on Laws' musical development (Private study) [Before Juilliard]

Key Collaborators

• Mongo Santamaria - Latin and jazz percussionist with whom Laws played flute and tenor saxophone (Various Latin jazz and salsa performances) [1963–1967]
• John Lewis - Jazz pianist and composer; Laws performed with him during Juilliard years (Evening jazz performances) [Early 1960s]
• Airto Moreira - Percussionist featured on Laws' landmark CTI recording (Rite of Spring (1971)) [1971]
• Jack DeJohnette - Drummer featured on Laws' landmark CTI recording (Rite of Spring (1971)) [1971]
• Bob James - Keyboardist featured on Laws' landmark CTI recording (Rite of Spring (1971)) [1971]
• Ron Carter - Bassist featured on Laws' landmark CTI recording (Rite of Spring (1971)) [1971]
• The Jazz Crusaders - Early ensemble that evolved from the Swingsters; Laws was a founding member (Group performances and recordings) [1954–1960]

Discography

Albums

Top Tracks

1. Encontros E Despedidas (Encontros E Despedidas)
2. Land of Passion (Land of Passion (Bonus Track Version))
3. I'm In Love Again (Love Lives Forever)
4. Family - Stereo Version (Family)
5. Dear Fall (Selah)
6. Feel Like Makin' Love - Live (The San Francisco Concert (Live))
7. Chick (Dedicated To Chick Corea) (Space-Time)
8. California Suite - 1978 (Bolling Story (Anthologie des bandes originales 1960-1998))
9. All Soul (The Laws Of Jazz / Flute By-Laws)
10. Desert Flower

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz

Tags: #hard-bop, #jazz, #post-bop