International Jazz Day 2025

RONNIE LAWS & DOUG CARN –

Double Feature Concert & Live Album Recording. Presented by the CA Jazz and Blues Museum, Produced by THEKarenA @ the iconic Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center on April 30th, International Jazz Day 2025!

The event will be hosted by WBGO on- air personality Pat Prescott, host of My Favorite Things.

These legendary artists come together again after decades, to perform and record a live album in an intimate setting. This event will be streamed live globally with an intimate in-person audience. Tickets are available for in-person and streaming.

RONNIE LAWS ~ A native of Houston, Texas, his family includes flutist brother, Hubert, vocalist sisters, Eloise and Debra; and saxophonist son Jaman. Laws taught himself to play alto saxophone, age of eleven. An eye injury sidelined early dreams of professional baseball, and his instrument became his all-consuming passion.

In 1970 he moved to Los Angeles and worked with legendary talents The Jazz Crusaders and Hugh Masekela. He played and recorded with Doug Carn who introduced Ronnie to Earth, Wind and Fire, where he played tenor and soprano sax before pursuing a solo career. Ronnie landed his first recording contract with Blue Note Records, resulting in the debut album Pressure Sensitive. Controversy erupted with jazz “purists” criticizing Laws’ inventive, nontraditional fusion style. Laws answered his critics by scoring unprecedented crossover success in R&B and pop in addition to jazz, and receiving multiple awards for originality in the process.

Laws is a proven natural at combining the exploratory heart of Jazz with the broader-reaching strains of Soul and Pop music. His first hit, “Always There” was one of the most popular, sax-driven, cross-over hits of the 70’s Jazz-Funk Fusion era. He ushered in the sensualization of the soprano sax with Quiet Storm gems such as “Grace”, “Karmen”, and “Just Love”. Pressure Sensitive, Fever, and Friends and Strangers (Blue Note 1978), the title track of his third album, all propelled to gold status.

DOUG CARN ~ A native New York City and raised in St. Augustine Florida, he emerged at the end of the ‘60s making his debut on record as perhaps the key member of the Black Jazz Records roster, releasing four albums for the label between 1971-75 that stand as all-time classics of Black Consciousness expressed through jazz. He is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and producer; much known for his organ and piano work. A key aspect of early success was the haunting and powerful vocal contributions of his then-wife Jean Carn, whose five-octave vocal range made for memorable renditions of classics like “Peace” (Horace Silver), “Little B’s Poem” (Bobby Hutcherson), “Blue And Green” (Miles Davis) and Doug’s own “Power And Glory.” The couple also contributed to Earth Wind and Fire’s first two albums.

Carn’s own luminous work on acoustic and electric piano on all these albums placed him firmly in the realm of contemporaries like Lonnie Liston Smith, Herbie Hancock and George Duke. His albums were elevated even further by the exquisite sideman work of a number of luminaries including Olu Dara (aka Nas Sr.), Charles Tolliver, Alphonse Mouzon and legendary Cannonball Adderley bassist Walter Booker.

Carn performed at Aretha Franklin’s Concert in 2018 in Detroit where he led Franklin’s band in a reading of her 1973 hit "Until You Come Back to Me."

In 2020, Carn teamed with producer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalists Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. They co-wrote and cut 11 original tracks with a cast of studio players at Linear Labs Studios. It was issued as Doug Carn JID005 in December of 2020.

PAT PRESCOTT ~ A native of Hampton Virginia and a graduate of Northwestern University, she started her radio career in New Orleans at WYLD-FM. Following a stint at New Orleans’ legendary rock station WNOE, she moved to New York to host the midday show at former heritage jazz station WRVR. During her 23 years on New York radio, Pat worked at WBLS, WLIB, The National Black News Network and contemporary jazz station CD 101.9.

In 2001, Pat moved to Los Angeles to co-host the morning show at 94-7 The Wave with saxophonist Dave Koz, who left after 6 years and was replaced by singer-songwriter Brian McKnight. She recently retired from The Wave and in 2022, Pat returned to the New York airwaves as host of My Favorite Things on WBGO where she can be heard Mon – Fri 9a-1p PST.

Pat was chosen as R&R's smooth jazz personality of the year for six consecutive years and in 2015, she received the prestigious Genii award from the Alliance of Women In Media. She is in-demand as a voiceover artist who can be heard on KCRW, on promotions for the Hollywood Bowl and the LA Phil.

An adjunct professor at Santa Monica College’s Center for Media and Design, she is also active in the community and has won numerous awards and citations for her contributions.

Host or Publisher California Jazz & Blues Museum