JAZZ NOTES Magazine, December 1997 -- Paris, France

Prince H. Lawsha "PLANETARY RHYTHMS"

This CD is from the son of Prince W. Lasha, saxophonist in the line of Dolphy and Coltrane, but whose style wanted to have a heavenly ring. The son, on this album, had good schooling and plays the drums well, and is surrounded not only by his friend Alain Brunet (trumpet), but also Kenneth Nash (percussion, vocal), Paul Contos (saxophones), Peter Horvath (piano), Nelson Braxton (bass), and Peter Fugii (guitar). It is music as much creative as recreational, which will take you wandering into different tendencies, in ambiences always renewed, where planetary dreams can be considered.

LE PROGRES Newspaper, 28 September 1997 -- Paris, France

PLANETARY RHYTHMS (Columbia/Sony Music).

Trained in the family school (his father has played with Coltrane, Dolphy, Rollins, Coleman, Redman) the drummer Prince H. Lawsha has been the tour manager for Max Roach for fifteen years. Surrounded by French trumpet player Alain Brunet and his percussion master Kenneth Nash, Lawsha is proposing a pacifying confrontation between jazz and universal music, punctuated with rhythm & blues. the intelligent combination evokes a climate that is anything but weary.

October 17

JAZZ CONTEMPORARY

Prince H. Lawsha Internationally Known In The World of Percussion

     The percussionist Prince H. Lawsha is a multi-faceted musician who’s talents include being a composer and performer...business man. Born in Forth Worth Texas he was named by his grandparents for whom he was “prince of babies.”
     A fourth generation musician, rhythm is born in him. He was well taught. His grandpa Jim Roberson  played clarinet and in the late forties his uncle Don Jones was part of the Count Basie Orchestra. Prince H. Lawsha who will perform in October  20 at the L’espace Georges Sadoul de Saint-Die, he was influenced by associations with his family, such as .....Ornette Colman, Charles Moffett, King Curtis and Dewey Redman. Taught also by percussionist Kenneth Nash and Max Roach. In 1978 he created his own group in San Francisco .
     His music compositions do not know borders. A mix of African European and  Island rhythms that oscillate between jazz  universal music, spiked as they are with faint memories of rhythm and blues assisted by the French trumpet  Alain Brunet and  Victor See Yuen. Prince Lawsha thus offers  music that is both original in its creation and entertaining.

 Alain Brunet double life -Ex  assistant of Jack Lang Has a Double Career As A Government Official and a Jazz Trumpet Player
    Nancy- His father played (Instrument) Then naturally when he was ten years old he got into music. His instrument will be the trumpet and not... as an amateur. Alain Brunet laughs haughtily when he speaks of his double life. His very official life in the government that he carries on now, he is currently General Inspector for the National Education in Corsica.
    His second life is about tours and concerts. Friday evening he was in Nancy and yesterday in Saint-Die dans thanks to the NJP alongside the American percussionist Prince H. Lawsha whom he has  played with for several years already. Next week the group who include also the percussionist Victor See Yuen, a friend of Sonny Rollins, will be in London were they will perform two days in a row.

Gainsbourg Jazzy

    Alain Brunet has been the first in France to present a musicology thesis in jazz in the Sorborne in 1972.  When he started in his profession it was an environment close to what he liked in his heart. For almost ten years he was responsible for the culture in the county Drome.
    Desiring to broaden his horizons and to have other experiences he prepares and passes exams to become a assistant supervisor of the county. He is still in that position when Jack Lang asked him to become Technical Counselor. In 1991-92 he even becomes his chief assistant in the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education.
    A friend, Jean Taieb, an official of Dixieland introduces him to jazz. “ he played Sidney Bechet”.  Self taught he practices his scales in the harmonies, Alain Brunet during all that time did not abandon his trumpet.  He continues to practice his art at least two hours a day, while the others have lunch.
    Recording sessions takes place during the vacations, always with the chance of being interrupted because he is needed.  As a matter of fact the trumpet player quickly made several records one of which was noticeable by many people. In 1993 he re-recorded in a quartet the jazziest of Gainsbourg pieces “ In 24 hours the A&R representative of  the WEA label signed me for that project” the record that  had a cult following particularly with the fans of Gainsbourg,  will soon be re-released. This kind of experience will happen again with a few  lesser known songs of Charles Trenet. For now Alain Brunet emphasizes the record he just finished with a didgeridoo player he met in the Marquise Islands. It is mainly world with a homage to Miles Davis.

 The Colors of Music

    The century that is starting is that of  music’s who’s colors are beautifully blended. Nancy Jazz Pulsations is a perfect example of that. From that point he quickly start talking about the colors his creation has taken on.
    Prince H. Lawsha is also concerned with that. The two men have a lot of esteem for each other they have been working together for five years now. Two albums have bonded this collaboration.
    “ I enjoy tremendously playing with these American players. They are very cool. I have learned a lot with them. When Prince hits his cymbals he always have a reason. Each sound has a meaning that’s the only way music should be played."

The Jazz Dressed Up With Gold and Light

Caption: More than 200 people have attended the Prince H. Lawsha concert. He represents a brilliant American jazz contemporary.

Caption: Prince H. Lawsha and his five musicians have made waves of jazz break on the l’espace Sadoul
    As every year, the festival Nancy Jazz Pulsations made a stop at the L’espace Georges-Sadoul that was Saturday evening. In the dark Yvan-Goll hall the audience pat their feet with the rhythm to make the floor vibrate. On the stage Alain Brunet’s  trumpet and Paul Contos saxophone were shinning, in their dark clothing they created a hedge of honor for the Texan drums.... Prince H. Lawsha, the now very known  heir of the just as well known William “Prince” Lasha his father the saxophone player “ The difference in the spelling in the name of father and son is due to the father‘s will to simplify its pronunciation.” Dressed in white and gold and wearing his dark beret the Prince was literally shown by his presence on the stage upon the L’espace Sadoul and so did his 5 talented musicians. Alain Brunet- trumpet, Paul Contos saxophone, Victor See Yuen-drums, Curtis Olson- bass, Peter Horwarth -piano. Although many pieces of music succeeded in this concert,  never did the music completely die. Sometimes soften to allow the warm and repeated applause of the audience, but will come all the more, split between exuberant and intimate and when and instrument stop playing and the other a whisper, it made a wider expression and gave a better chance to spot light the other instrument and gave it a solo.
    Fascinated by the play of the instruments which answered each other or melded in the same melody, always very rhythmic, fascinated by the generosity by this contemporary American jazz the 230 people that were crouching in the shadows let themselves be literally submerged by the jazz wave. Without stopping they went on breaking until they made this evening an unforgettable memory.