Hubert Laws on the freedom of improvisation
NOW, A JAZZ MOMENT...
MUSIC: Moments Notice
Hubert Laws: I had no idea that flute playing would become therapeutic for me. I carry my flute around everywhere I go and pull it out, ?cause it actually becomes a panacea for me.
NEA JAZZ MASTER HUBERT LAWS IS JUST AS COMFORTABLE PLAYING A JAZZ CLUB AS HE IS ONSTAGE WITH A SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA. HE SPENT FOUR YEARS IN HIS EARLY CAREER AS A SUBSTITUTE FLUTIST FOR THE METROPOLITAN OPERA AND NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC, WORKING WITH LEONARD BERNSTEIN AND MANY OF THE WORLD'S GREATEST CONDUCTORS. AMAZING EXPERIENCES, BUT SOMETHING WAS MISSING...
Hubert Laws: After I had done that, I began to appreciate something that I took for granted. That is, the ability to improvise. Because human beings are free moral agents. Free will is something we all enjoy. And then I begin to think about, man, how much freedom I just have been enjoying and took it for granted. So instead of playing and practicing only the concerti and the sonatas, hey, I started applying that same discipline toward improvisation.
MUSIC: up for punctuation, then fades under and out
THIS JAZZ MOMENT WITH FLUTIST HUBERT LAWS WAS CREATED BY THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS. I'M CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE.