Hubert Laws

Hubert Laws
Background information
Born	November 10, 1939 (1939-11-10) (age 70)
Origin	Houston, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Jazz, Classical
Occupations	Flautist
Instruments	Flute
Years active	1964 – Present
Labels	RKO/Unique, Sony, Music Masters Jazz, CTI, Columbia
Website	www.HubertLaws.com

Hubert Laws (born November 10, 1939)^[1] is an American flutist with a 30-year career in jazz, classical, and other music genres. Laws is one of the few classical artists who has also mastered jazz, pop, and rhythm-and-blues genres, moving effortlessly from one repertory to another.^[2]

Biography

Hubert Laws, Jr. was born November 10, 1939, in the Studewood section of Houston, Texas, the second of eight children to Hubert Laws, Sr. and Miola Luverta Donahue.^[1] Many of his siblings also entered the music industry, including saxophonist Ronnie Laws and vocalists Eloise, Debra, and Johnnie Laws. He began playing flute in high school after volunteering to substitute for the school orchestra's regular flutist. He became adept at jazz improvisation by playing in the Houston-area jazz group the Swingsters, which eventually evolved into the Modern Jazz Sextet, the Night Hawks, and the Crusaders. At age 15, was a member of the early Jazz Crusaders while in Texas (1954-1960), and he also played classical music during those years.

Juilliard and classical music

Winning a scholarship to New York's Juilliard School of Music in 1960, he studied music both in the classroom and with master flutist Julius Baker, and played with both the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra (member) and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, 1969-72. In this period his renditions of classical compositions by Gabriel Fauré, Stravinsky, Debussy, and Bach on the 1971 CTI recording Rite of Spring—with a string section and such jazz stalwarts as Airto Moreira, Jack DeJohnette, Bob James, and Ron Carter—earned him an audience of classical music aficionados. He would return to this genre in 1976 with a recording of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet.

Jazz

While at Juillard Laws played flute during the evenings with several acts, including Mongo Santamaria, 1963-67 and in 1964 began recording as a bandleader for the Atlantic label, and he released the albums The Laws of Jazz, Flute By-Laws, and Laws Cause. He guested on albums by Ashford and Simpson, Chet Baker, and George Benson. He also recorded with younger brother Ronnie Laws album The Laws in the early 1970s. He also played flute on Gil Scott-Heron's 1972 album Free Will, which featured the jazz poem "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." During the 1970s he was a member of the New York Jazz Quartet.

In the 1990s Laws resumed his career, playing on the 1991 Spirituals in Concert recording by opera singers Kathleen Battle and Jessye Norman. His albums on the Music Masters label—My Time Will Come in 1990 and, more particularly, Storm Then Calm in 1994—are regarded by critics as a return to the form he exhibited on his early 1970s albums. He also recorded a tribute album to jazz pianist and pop-music vocalist Nat King Cole, Hubert Laws Remembers the Unforgettable Nat King Cole, which received critical accolades. Among the many artists he has played and recorded with are Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Nancy Wilson, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Lena Horne, Leonard Bernstein, James Moody, Jaco Pastorius, Sergio Mendes,Bob James, Carly Simon, George Benson, Clark Terry, Stevie Wonder, J. J. Johnson, and The Rascals.^[3]

The 2006 video Hubert Laws Live 30-year Video Retrospective, available only at hubertlaws.com, includes "Red Hot & Cool" with Nancy Wilson, Performance in Brazil, Johnny Carson Show Appearance, The 1975 Downbeat Reader's Poll Awards, Performance in Japan, and Performance in Germany.

Awards and honors

Grammys:

• Career Wins:
• Career Nominations: 3^[4]

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With Gary McFarland

• America The Beautiful, Am Account of its Disappearance (1968)

With Walter Wanderley

• When It Was Done (1968)
• Moondreams (1969)

With Quincy Jones

• Walking In Space (1969)

With George Benson

• Tell It Like It Is (1969)
• The Other Side of Abby Road (1969)
• White Rabbit (1972)
• Good King Bad (1975)
• In Concert - Carnegie Hall (1978)
• Pacific Fire (1983)

With Randy Weston

• Blue Moses (1972)

With Freddie Hubbard

• First Light (1971)
• Skydive (1972)

With Ron Carter

• Uptown Conversation (1970)
• Blues Farm (1973)
• Spanish Blue (1975)

With McCoy Tyner

• Together (1978)
• La Leyenda de La Hora (1981)

With Chet Baker

• She Was Good to Me (1972)
• Studio Trieste (1982)

With Chick Corea

• The Complete "IS" Sessions (1969)
• Tap Step (1980)

With Alphonse Mouzon

• Morning Sun (1981)

With Stanley Turrentine

• If I Could (1993)

References

External links

• Hubert Laws official website
• Hubert Laws
• Allmusic