Ronnie Laws, The Unsung Hero of Contemporary Jazz

Born in 1950 in the great city of Houston, TX Ronald Wayne Laws was born into a music loving family. His older brother Hubert Laws is a jazz legend, sister Eloise Laws also a legend in R&B/Jazz and younger sister Debra Laws is a recording artist as well best known for her collaboration with Ronnie, “Very Special” a moderate hit in 1981 (Billboard R&B #13, Pop #70)

His mother was a choir member and director in church which brought the sound of gospel into the home and inspired the family as a whole. Rehearsals in the home on Saturdays prompted Laws to hear and enjoy in the same vein of his future legendary brother Hubert, a flautist and sometimes tenor saxophonist. However, it was an elder brother-in-law who was a saxophonist and a future band teacher at Robert E. Lee High in Houston who played an integral part in his musicianship and pursuit of music. Beginning in Jr High, Ronnie was in Junior High at 11 years old he picked up his older brother-in-law’s alto saxophone and through listening and watching him played a C major scale.

According to a 2024 interview on NAMM.org, Laws said he was so good his older brother-in-law gave him his alto and never played it again. Growing up in Texas, Laws was exposed to the blues, southern soul, traditional jazz and gospel music.  Having a natural talent for flute and sax like his legendary brother Hubert, Ronnie recognized his adept approach to playing by ear by learning the sax man David “Fathead” Newman’s famous solo on “Hard Times” and Paul Desmond’s famous performance of “Take Five” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. At the tender age of 12, Ronnie played and performed with a young Kenny Rogers. The future country music legend employed his older sister as a backing vocalist and hired him to play in a few Houston based gigs which would further fuel his passion for all music. From there, his band teacher at Lee High School noticed his apt for playing and performing multiple genres of music and his vocal ability and began teaching him music theory and sight reading before classes began.

Hubert Laws, who was already a major recording artist by the time Ronnie was in his teens, played a huge role in musical development. Ronnie said his brother “was very hard on me. He wanted to make sure I did the right things. I remember him yelling and screaming at me during lessons.” Something Ronnie thanked his brother for later and what gave him the necessary fundamental tools for future success as a musician. Years later, Laws attended Stephen F. Austin State University. However, fueled by his ambition and elevated maturity in music and professional gig experience, Ronnie moved to Los Angeles in the early 70’s. A decision prompted by his desire for his own identity and not having the privilege of moving to New York City as his brother did. That decision allowed Laws to play with a musician hero of his, Hugh Masekela, known for his early 60-70’s soul-jazz recordings and the Soul-Jazz instrumental hit “Grazing in the Grass” as well as The Jazz Crusaders (later known as the Crusaders). Performing and frequenting the L.A. jazz scene led to Laws joining an early version of Earth, Wind and Fire which included future “classic era” members vocalist/percussionist Philip Bailey, keyboardist Larry Dunn, and future collaborator and guitarist Roland Bautista. Laws recorded the breakout EWF effort, “Last Days and Times” in 1972. No known footage or live dates documentation exists from his tenure with EWF.

Although he played with them for 18 months, He left Earth, Wind and Fire and pursued a solo career in 1973. He formed his own group and met up with a college friend named William Jeffery, a producer, songwriter and instrumentalist also from his native Houston, TX. This association led to Laws signing to United Artist/Blue Note records and the seminal debut album was birthed in 1975 entitled “Pressure Sensitive”. A standout recording in the fledging “fusion” genre with heavy R&B/Soul influences that made Laws a star in the jazz world at the young age of 25 years old. Produced by Wayne Henderson of the Crusaders “Pressure Sensitive” birthed the timeless hit “Always There”, a contemporary-funk classic. Instrumentals during this age were rarely heard outside of AOR, Black or Jazz radio, However, Laws crossover appeal was firmly established with this record, and it reached #25 on Billboard’s Top Soul Albums Chart.

Subsequent albums such as Fever in 1976 and gold-selling Friends and Strangers reached Billboard Charts and made Laws a strong influence on the future of contemporary jazz. He worked alongside his contemporary, Grover Washington, Jr,, with a new sound and approach to sax as an R&B/Pop staple that would eventually lead to the development of future saxophone stalwarts like Boney James, Kenny (G)orelick, George Howard, Everette Harp, and Najee just to name few. In addition to his prowess on sax and flute, Laws was a great singer and debuted that talent on his 1977 RIAA-certified gold selling hit record, Friends and Strangers on the self-penned cut “Saturday Evening”. This was brought on by producer Wayne Henderson’s suggestion when he learned of Laws’ singing abilities while recording the famous record in Los Angeles. On future recordings like 1980’s, “Every Generation” (#4 Top Soul Albums-Billboard), 1981’s, Solid Ground, and 1983’s Mr. Nice Guy, Laws showcased his vocal talents which led him to major national TV appearances on Solid Gold, Soul Train and even a rare appearance on American Bandstand. Throughout the 80’s and 90’s Laws continued to record in the R&B/Contemporary jazz fusion vein and toured infrequently. With the emerging “smooth jazz” radio format and the popularity of his musical “offspring” (Dave Koz, Kenny G, Najee, George Howard, Warren Hill, Kirk Whalum, etc.) Laws began to fade in popularity in the public view although jazz enthusiasts and longtime fans still supported his albums and tour dates worldwide. Decidedly, Laws took a musical detour and displayed his traditional jazz influences by recording the celebrated, critically acclaimed, Tribute to the Legendary Eddie Harris in 1997 prompting a resurgence in his public appearances.  Often criticized for playing “fusion” and the hybrid styling of R&B meets funk-jazz-soul this recording set the record straight on how diverse he was a musician and equally adept playing in the “straight ahead” vein of jazz music.

Impact:

Although not as much of a household name as his contemporaries Grover Washington, Jr and David Sanborn, Laws’ impact on the school of contemporary jazz players is immeasurable.  It combined smooth, tender yet aggressive and fierce. It offered the soulfulness of a Mississippi bluesman mixed with the musical vocabulary of Miles and Trane. Akin to Joe Sample and Wilton Felder. It presented a hybrid musicianship (sax, flute, piano) and a knack for soulful vocals which gave his music an accessibility the average saxophonist couldn’t reach or obtain organically. Songs like “Friends and Strangers” and “Always There” are to this very day jam session favorites and they are the go-to songs on many a current smooth jazz festival after party jam or special guest appearance. These songs themselves have been covered by contemporary jazz legends like Jeff Lorber (an artist and producer known for his discovery of saxophone legends Kenny G, Dave Koz, Gerald Albright and New Jack swing/R&B singer Karyn White), 70s soul crooner David Porter, jazz impresario Dave Grusin and many more. A new generation of contemporary jazz emerged in the early 2000’s and Laws’ impact can also be heard in the sax stylings of Eric Darius, Mike Phillips, Tony Exum, Jr., Riley Richard, Philip “Doc” Martin and Dee Lucas to name a few.

With eight top 40 R&B/Soul Albums including four Jazz and Contemporary Jazz albums and 30 plus charting R&B/Soul/Jazz/Smooth Jazz singles, Ronnie Laws is a Godfather of the Contemporary Jazz sound…an unsung hero but highly influential and greatly impactful.  Listen to Laginappe with me, Tony Exum, Jr., weeknights at 8:00 p.m. MDT on Jazz 93.5 to hear Laws’ music as well as the music of his contemporaries and influences.

Collaborations:

Laws played saxophone on Ramsey Lewis‘ 1983 album Les Fleurs, Sister Sledge‘s 1983 LP Bet Cha Say That to All the Girls, Deniece Williams‘ 1984 album Let’s Hear It for the Boy and Jeff Lorber‘s 1984 LP In the Heat of the Night. Laws also performed on Alphonse Mouzon‘s 1985 album The Sky Is the Limit and 1988 LP Early Spring.

Laws made guest appearances on Howard Hewett‘s 1988 LP Forever and Ever, Norman Brown‘s 1992 album Just Between Us and Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1993 LP Millennium. He also performed on Hubert Laws’ 1993 album My Time Will Come, Rebbie Jackson‘s 1998 album Yours Faithfully, Kevin Toney‘s 2001 album Strut and the Crusaders 2006 live album Alive in South Africa. Laws later appeared on Guru‘s 2007 album Guru’s Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip Hop Jazz Messenger: Back to the Future and Brian Culbertson‘s 2007 LP Bringing Back The Funk.^[15]