Ronnie Laws - Pressure Sensitive
Released - 1975
Recording and Session Information
Angel City Sound, Los Angeles, CA, March & April, 1975
Ronnie Laws, tenor, soprano sax, flute; Jerry Peters, electric piano, synthesizer; Mike Cavanaugh, Joe Sample, Clavinet, electric piano; Roland Bautista, guitar; John Rowin, guitar #2,3,5; Clint Mosley, electric bass; Steve Guttierez, drums; Joe Clayton, congas, tambourine, flexitone; Side Effect, backing vocals #2.
15764 Always There
15765 Momma
15766 Never Be The Same
15767 Tell Me Something Good
15768 Nothing To Lose
15770 Why Do You Laugh At Me
15771 Mis' Mary's Place
Ronnie Laws, tenor, soprano sax, flute; Jerry Peters, electric piano, synthesizer; Mike Cavanaugh, Joe Sample, Clavinet, electric piano; Roland Bautista, John Rowin, guitar; Wilton Felder, electric bass; Michael Willars, drums; Joe Clayton, congas, tambourine, flexitone.
15769 Tidal Wave
Track Listing
| Side One | ||
| Title | Author | Recording Date |
| Always There | R. Laws-W. Jeffrey | March-April 1975 |
| Momma | R. Bautista | March-April 1975 |
| Never Be The Same | R. Laws-R. Bautista-M. Cavanagh | March-April 1975 |
| Tell Me Something Good | Stevie Wonder | March-April 1975 |
| Side Two | ||
| Nothing To Lose | Ronnie Laws | March-April 1975 |
| Tidal Wave | W. Jeffrey | March-April 1975 |
| Why Do You Laugh At Me | Wayne Henderson | March-April 1975 |
| Mis' Mary's Place | Ronnie Laws | March-April 1975 |
Liner Notes
RONNIE LAWS AND PRESSURE
As you read this, you are hopefully listening to the music of Ronnie Laws.
If there are echoes of The Crusaders' velvet touch in Ronnie's music, he comes by it honestly. His producer is Crusader Wayne Henderson. His brother is the well known jazz great Hubert Laws — he grew up in Houston with the guys who became The Crusaders.
While in Texas, Ronnie became very active in school combos and stage bands, and soon found himself piling up awards and recognition in virtually every competition he entered. Upon graduation he was inundated with scholarship offers totaling almost $20,000, including three from the highly-touted Berklee School in Boston.
Ronnie's next step was in the direction of Los Angeles, where he sought out old friend Henderson, who helped the young saxaphonist get started.
Ronnie has worked with the likes of Quincy Jones, Doug Carn, Walter Bishop and Kenny Burell. He spent a year with Earth, Wind and Fire, and contributed both his soprano sax and composing talents to that group's first album. From there, Ronnie hooked up with Hugh Masakela, where, according to Henderson, "He was all over his horn, pouring out so much pure music that he stuck out like a sore thumb."
After years of playing on other people's sessions, Ronnie is a super hornman, rough-edged yet capable of great tenderness. This debut album has turned out to be a perfect marriage of artist and producer. Says Ronnie, "I wanted each note and phrase to be so exact, almost drove everybody mad. But Wayne took the music and made it...powerful. I walked in with the skeletons and Wayne brought it to life". Henderson is equally satisfied. "It was a joy and a challenge working with Ronnie, trying to get down exactly what was in his head. But nothing speaks as well as the music itself..."
What emerges from this auspicious debut is not only an excellent and immensely likeable record, but for a very deserving artist, the flowering of a soon-to-be-brilliant career. Ronnie Laws' prodigious musical voice is now ready to be heard. Listen,
CLAYTON FROHMAN
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