Rick Laird
Encyclopedia
Richard Quentin 'Rick' Laird is a jazz
musician, born on 5 February 1941. He is a bass player best known for his place in The Mahavishnu Orchestra
.
Laird was born in Dublin, Ireland
. He played music from a young age and enrolled for guitar and piano lessons. He started playing jazz after moving to New Zealand
at the age of 16 with his father. He played guitar in jam band
s in New Zealand before buying an upright bass. After extensive touring in New Zealand he moved to Sydney
, Australia where he played with many top jazz musicians including Don Burrows
.
He moved to England in 1962 and became house bassist at Ronnie Scott
's Jazz Club in London, playing with many greats including the guitarist Wes Montgomery
and Sonny Stitt
. From 1963-4 Laird then at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama
. He was recorded on Sonny Rollins
's record Alfie and played in The Brian Auger Trinity
(July 1963-February 1964) and The Brian Auger Group (Feb-October 1964).
His next step was to go to Berklee College of Music
in Boston, US, where he studied arranging, composition and string bass. He then teamed up with John McLaughlin
and The Mahavishnu Orchestra to play electric bass until 1973, when the band broke up. After that, he moved to New York
and played with Stan Getz
(a tour in 1977) and Chick Corea
(a tour the following year). Laird put out one album as a leader, Soft Focus. Today, he is a successful photographer as well as a private bass tutor and an author of a number of intermediate- to advanced-level bass books.
Richard Laird, as he is known in the art world, recently (March 2009) came across a collection of photographs in a file cabinet that he had taken in years past of legendary jazz artists but had mostly forgotten about. The discovery of these historic photos that feature Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Elvin Jones, Keith Jarrett and many others led to the formation of a Jazz.com Richard Laird Gallery at http://jazz.com/jazz-blog/2009/3/5/the-jazz-photography-of-richard-laird
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician, born on 5 February 1941. He is a bass player best known for his place in The Mahavishnu Orchestra
The Mahavishnu Orchestra
The Mahavishnu Orchestra was a jazz fusion group, led by John McLaughlin, that debuted in 1971, dissolved in 1976 and reunited from 1984 to 1987.-First Mahavishnu Orchestra:...
.
Laird was born in Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. He played music from a young age and enrolled for guitar and piano lessons. He started playing jazz after moving to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
at the age of 16 with his father. He played guitar in jam band
Jam band
-Ambiguity:By the late 1990s use of the term jam band also became ambiguous. An editorial at jamband.com suggested that any band of which a primary band such as Phish has done a cover of be included as jam band. The example was including New York post-punk band Talking Heads after Phish performed...
s in New Zealand before buying an upright bass. After extensive touring in New Zealand he moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia where he played with many top jazz musicians including Don Burrows
Don Burrows
Donald Vernon Burrows, AO, MBE is an Australian jazz and swing musician, playing the clarinet, saxophone, and flute....
.
He moved to England in 1962 and became house bassist at Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott
Ronnie Scott was an English jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner.-Life and career:Ronnie Scott was born in Aldgate, east London, into a family of Russian Jewish descent on his father's side, and Portuguese antecedents on his mother's. Scott began playing in small jazz clubs at the age of...
's Jazz Club in London, playing with many greats including the guitarist Wes Montgomery
Wes Montgomery
John Leslie "Wes" Montgomery was an American jazz guitarist. He is widely considered one of the major jazz guitarists, emerging after such seminal figures as Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian and influencing countless others, including Pat Martino, George Benson, Russell Malone, Emily...
and Sonny Stitt
Sonny Stitt
Edward "Sonny" Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. He was also one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording over 100 albums in his lifetime...
. From 1963-4 Laird then at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
. He was recorded on Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
's record Alfie and played in The Brian Auger Trinity
Brian Auger and the Trinity
Brian Auger and the Trinity were a British group led by the keyboardist Brian Auger. They had a #5 hit in the UK Singles Chart with the Bob Dylan-penned "This Wheel's On Fire" in 1968....
(July 1963-February 1964) and The Brian Auger Group (Feb-October 1964).
His next step was to go to Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston, US, where he studied arranging, composition and string bass. He then teamed up with John McLaughlin
John McLaughlin (musician)
John McLaughlin , also known as Mahavishnu John McLaughlin, is an English guitarist, bandleader and composer...
and The Mahavishnu Orchestra to play electric bass until 1973, when the band broke up. After that, he moved to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and played with Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
(a tour in 1977) and Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
(a tour the following year). Laird put out one album as a leader, Soft Focus. Today, he is a successful photographer as well as a private bass tutor and an author of a number of intermediate- to advanced-level bass books.
Richard Laird, as he is known in the art world, recently (March 2009) came across a collection of photographs in a file cabinet that he had taken in years past of legendary jazz artists but had mostly forgotten about. The discovery of these historic photos that feature Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Elvin Jones, Keith Jarrett and many others led to the formation of a Jazz.com Richard Laird Gallery at http://jazz.com/jazz-blog/2009/3/5/the-jazz-photography-of-richard-laird
Source
- The Mahavishnu Orchestra The Lost Trident Sessions CD booklet
- Rick Laird, Jazz Riffs for Bass
External links
- http://www.cs.cf.ac.uk/Dave/mclaughlin/art/laird.html