Biography | Discography | Charts & Awards | Press Kit
 Internationally
renowned flutist Hubert Laws is one of the few classical artists who
has mastered jazz, pop, and rhythm-and-blues genres; moving
effortlessly from one repertory to another. He has appeared as a
soloist with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta, with the
orchestras of Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Cleveland, Amsterdam,
Japan, Detroit and with the Stanford String Quartet. He has given
annual performances at Carnegie Hall, and has performed sold out
performances in the Hollywood Bowl with fellow flutist Jean-Pierre
Rampal and was a member of the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan
Opera Orchestras. In addition, he has appeared at the Montreux,
Playboy, and Kool Jazz Festivals; he performed with the Modern Jazz
Quartet at the Hollywood Bowl in 1982 and with the Detroit Symphony
in 1994. His recordings have won three Grammy nominations.
Mr.
Laws has been involved in unique projects such as collaborations with
Quincy Jones, Bob James, and Claude Bolling for Neil Simon’s comedy
California Suite, a collaboration with Earl Klugh and Pat Williams on
the music for How to Beat the High Cost of Living: and film scores
for The Wiz, Color Purple, A Hero Ain’t Nothing but a Sandwich, and
Spot Marks the X.
There
are 20 albums in Mr. Laws’ discography for such record companies
as: Atlantic, CBS, CTI, including: “My Time Will Come,” and
“Storm Then The Calm” for the Music Masters record label.
Session
work also remains a staple of Hubert Laws’ schedule, and includes
collaborations and recordings with such artists as Quincy Jones,
Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah
Vaughn, Freddie Hubbard, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin,
Lena Horne, Sergio Mendes, Bob James, Carly Simon, Clark Terry,
Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic.
Born
in Houston, Texas, Mr. Laws’ musical education came from various
sources. He grew up directly across from a honky-tonk called Miss
Mary’s Place, his grandfather played the harmonica, and his mother
played gospel music on the piano. His classical training got under
way in high school. He later enrolled in the music department at
Texas Southern University. During this period, he arranged to study
privately with Clement Barone who Mr. Laws considers had a profound
effect on his development. From there he traveled to Los Angeles
with the Jazz Crusaders where he won a scholarship to the Juilliard
School of Music in New York City. Mr. Laws completed his studies and
obtained his degree at the Juilliard School of Music in New York City
under tutelage of the renowned flutist Julius Baker.
Hubert’s
musical education has always been an amalgamation. For starters, his
boyhood home was directly across the street from an
honest-to-goodness honky-tonk, Miss Mary’s Place, which still sits
on the same spot in Houston’s Studewood section. His grandfather
played the harmonica and often entertained as a one-man band. His
mother Miola, played gospel music on the piano.
The
second of eight children in a musical family, Hubert grew up playing
rhythm and blues and gospel at dances in the neighborhood. Brother
Ronnie and sisters, Eloise and Debra, have all made their mark in the
music industry, while sister Blanche has devoted her talent to gospel
singing and brother Johnnie has contributed his voice on Hubert’s
recordings. It’s fitting that Hubert’s fourth album for Columbia
was entitled Family, featuring almost the entire Laws clan.
Starting
out on piano then mellophone and alto sax, Hubert picked up the flute
in high school while volunteering to fill-in on a flute solo
performance with his high school orchestra. Music teacher, Clement
Barone, is credited with teaching Hubert the fundamentals. During
his early teens, Hubert was exposed to jazz by high school band
director Sammy Harris at Phillips Wheatley High School. He enjoyed
the freedom of improvisation and the creativity allowed by jazz and
began playing regularly with a Houston group known variously as the
Swingsters, the Modern Jazz Sextet, Night Hawks, the Jazz Crusaders,
and more recently, The Crusaders.
After
high school, Hubert enrolled in the Music Department at Texas
Southern University. After two years there he left with The
Crusaders for Los Angeles. This soon became a point of departure to
the Juilliard School of Music in New York. Winning a scholarship
that would cover the cost of tuition in 1960, Hubert left for New
York in a 1950 Plymouth Sedan with $600.00 in his pocket. Fondly
remembering the moment he realized his savings would not cover the
necessities of life in New York, Hubert recalled, “It was the fall
of 1960. I was down to my last fifty bucks and wondering what to do
when the phone rang and it was a call offering me my first job at
Sugar Ray’s Lounge in Harlem. Times were tough then, but, I
haven’t looked back since.”
Studying
all day every day in class or with master flautist Julius Baker,
evenings were devoted to gigging for support. Soon Hubert was
playing with the likes of Mongo Santamaria, Lloyd Price Big Band,
John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Orchestra USA, and the
Berkshire Festival Orchestra at Tanglewood – summer home of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Recording
session work became a staple of Hubert’s schedule and included
Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Aretha Franklin, Lena
Horne, James Moody, Sergio Mendes, Bob James, Carly Simon, George
Benson, Clark Terry, and J.J. Johnson. During those tough times, the
ability to play R&B and jazz enabled him not only to survive, but
to thrive. Hubert believes musicians would do well to learn how to
play in a variety of musical idioms.
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Hubert Laws 