In 1970, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a musical career. He played with the Jazz Crusaders (Hubert had played with them in the 50s) and especially Hugh Masakela. His first appearances in the city were with pianist Walter Bishop, Jr., Doug Carn, and on his brother`s CTI recordings. In 1972, he joined Earth, Wind & Fire for 18 months and was actually their first saxophonist to play both tenor and soprano. he played on the album Last Days and Time. In Los Angeles, he met Donald Byrd. The two became friends and Byrd signed laws to Blue Note. His 1975 debut album, Pressure Sensitive, despite landing at the age of 73, was played seriously on the radio, spawning the jazz-funk classic “Always There.” It has been covered and/or sampled by over 100 artists. The laws were on their way. With his other works from the `70s — Fever, Friends and Strangers and 1976`s Flame — which included his first hit Cross-Continental 12 “All for You,” Laws established himself as a session musician and played on recordings by Ramsey Lewis, his sister Eloise, Arthur Adams, Gene McDaniels and Wayne Henderson, to name a few. He attended Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas for two years. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, USA,[1] Laws was the fifth of eight children.
He started playing the saxophone at the age of 11. [3] Ronnie Laws will play saxophonist, singer, songwriter and producer at the Hard Rock Cafe Philadelphia on July 3, which helped usher in the era of smooth jazz and jazz-funk and make big brands in R&B. Read the full biography STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Minutes with Ronnie Law`s brother, Ronnie Law, is practically synonymous with good music. Laws has also collaborated with artists such as Guru, Brian Culbertson, Jeff Lorber and the Crusaders. [14] Ronnie Laws, the Cunninghams arrive at Sheldon this summer Ronnie Law`s name is practically synonymous with good music. True Laws fans know that this talented contemporary music artist is by no means a newcomer to the industry. Born in Houston, Texas, born October 3, 1950, the third in a famous four-piece line that includes his classically trained jazz flutist brother Hubert and singer sisters Eloise and Debra. Laws taught himself alto saxophone at the age of eleven, and after an eye injury shattered early dreams of a career in professional baseball, in part to fulfill his mother`s dream of playing horn, his instrument became her all-consuming passion.
He studied music at Stephen F. High School. Austin State and Texas Southern University and have developed progressive mastery and technique. Aided by immortal jazz greats Donald Byrd, he quickly signed his first recording contract with Blue Note Records, resulting in the impressive debut album Pressure Sensitive (1975), produced by family friend Wayne Henderson (founding member of contemporary jazz pioneers The Crusaders), which quickly became the best-selling album in the label`s 42-year history. Pressure Sensitive was followed by his second album Fever (1976). Ronnie Laws is an award-winning tenor saxophonist and composer whose career has spanned the world of jazz and R&B since the early 1970s. Since 1975, he has placed seven albums in the top 200 – including his first Blue Note Pressure Sensitive in 1975 – as well as tracks and albums in no less than six other categories. Er hat als gefragter Session-Mann und Live-Musiker mit einem Who-is-Who der Jazz- und R&B-Größen wie Ramsey Lewis, Gregory Porter, B.B. King, George Duke, Quincy Jones, Stanley Jordan und Dutzende mehr. Laws produzierte und sang 1981 auf Debra Laws` Album Very Special.
Später spielte er Saxophon auf Ramsey Lewis` 1983er Album Les Fleurs, Sister Sledges 1983er LP Bet Cha Say That to All the Girls, Deniece Williams` 1984er Album Let`s Hear It for the Boy und Jeff Lorbers 1984er LP In the Heat of the Night. Laws spielte auch auf Alphonse Mouzons 1985er Album The Sky Is the Limit und 1988 LP Early Spring. Später gastierte er auf Howard Hewetts LP Forever and Ever (1988), Norman Browns Album Just Between Us and Earth (1992), Wind & Fires LP Millennium (1993). [14] Ronald Wayne Laws (* 3. Oktober 1950)[1] ist ein US-amerikanischer Jazz-, Jazz-Fusion[2] und Smooth-Jazz-Saxophonist. He is the younger brother of jazz flutist Hubert Laws, jazz singer Eloise Laws and older brother of Debra Laws. Artists such as Boney James and Norman Brown were influenced by Laws. [15] [16]. Even for the uninitiated, the name Ronnie Laws evokes the spirit of R&B and contemporary jazz. Ronnie was the first saxophonist of Earth Wind and Fire and was featured on their album Last Days in Time. His solo career began on the legendary Blue Note label with the debut album Pressure Sensitive, from which came his most famous instrumental song Always There. He has played with Stevie Wonder, Hugh Masekela, Quincy Jones, Gregory Porter, BB King, George Duke, Stanley Jordan and many others.
Ronnie has established himself as a master saxophonist with a worldwide audience and his songs have been covered by many artists. Laws is a proven natural when it comes to combining the exploratory core of jazz with the broader varieties of soul and pop music. His first hit, “Always There” (called Ronnie Laws and Pressure on the 45 tour), was one of the most popular crossover hits of the jazz-funk-fusion era of the 70s. He initiated the soprano saxophone`s awareness with Quiet Storm gems such as “Grace”, “Karmen” and “Just Love”. Pressure Sensitive, Fever and Friends and Strangers (Blue Note 1978), the title track of his third album, all went gold. In the 80s, Laws began presenting his voice with his saxophone playing tracks such as Every Generation (1980), “Stay Awake” (from 1981 Solid Ground) and “Mr. Nice Guy” (1982). “Stay Awake” spent 18 weeks on the R&B charts, peaking at number 19.
He moved from United Artists to Capitol to Columbia during the decade, releasing memorable albums such as Mr. Nice Guy (1983) and All Day Rhythm (1987). His records began to appear regularly on R&B radio lists – he placed ten tracks on Hot R&B/Hip Hop songs during the ten-year period. Walter Beasley, Ronnie Laws, Willie Bradley at the McGlohon Theater. Controversy soon erupted around him, with so-called “purist” jazz criticizing Law`s inventive and non-traditional style of “jazz fusion”. Laws quickly responded to his critics by achieving unprecedented crossover success in R&B and pop in addition to jazz, while receiving several awards for his originality. In 1971, Laws traveled to Los Angeles, California, to begin a musical career. He began with a performance with trumpeter Hugh Masekela.
In 1972, Laws joined the band Earth, Wind & Fire, where he played saxophone and flute on their album Last Days and Time. After 18 months of working with Earth, Wind and Fire, he decided to become a solo artist. In 1975, Laws released their first album, Pressure Sensitive, on Blue Note Records.[3] The album peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Top Soul Albums.[4] In 1976, Laws released their second album, Fever.[5] The album peaked at number one.[6] No. 13 on the Billboard Top Soul LPs chart. The 90s began with Laws returning to his hard jazz-funk roots on True Spirit.[7] .