Hubert Laws

I kind of hate the fact that people are always trying to put you into a category. I hate walls, and I hate boundaries. I don’t like that. I listen to everything.

When I got pretty good I went on the road with a group. We starved.

To get the music the way you want it, there’s a lot of work involved.

The louder they [the band] play the softer I sing.

Art [Blakey] would take young people with a potential and help them develop a voice as a player and as a writer.

That’s where I heard feedback first – from Les Paul. Also vibratos – even before B.B. King, you know. I’ve traced a hell of a lot of rock and roll, little riffs and things, back to Les Paul – it’s all there. I mean, he’s the father of it all: multi-tracking and everything else. If it hadn’t been for him, there wouldn’t have been anything really.

I am only a mixture of countless influences and thanks to that I am able to find my own style of playing.

I was always exposed to music. Mom and dad would have the radio on constantly.

Jazz is the big brother of the blues. If a guy’s playing blues like we play, he’s in high school. When he starts playing jazz it’s like going on to college, to a school of higher learning.

Once you have been bitten by the Jazz bug, it is not a choice anymore.

You have to pack as much as you can in an hour or 70 minutes. This time around it was 15 songs, so it was a challenge to get them all the right length so you could get them all on.

I heard someone say ‘What’s that kid doing here? Call your piano player and let’s get started.’

Jazz is an art that makes a person completely naked.

That’s the thing about jazz: it’s free flowing, it comes from your soul.

Live music is best! Make plans to get out and support your local Jazz scene.