Two generations of jazz merge at Middle C as Laws’ family legacy continues

Growing up in a family of well-known musicians, it seems only natural to enter the family business. But for Jaman Laws — the youngest son of jazz saxophonist Ronnie Laws and the nephew of jazz flautist Hubert Laws and vocalists Eloise and Debra Laws — taking up the musical mantle wasn’t a given.

“My dad bought me my first sax when I was 12 years old. I was into basketball, like every other kid, and I didn’t get serious about (music) until I was in high school,” Jaman Laws says. “I discovered jazz in my later teens. My dad exposed me to all the greats at an age where I was ready for it.”

It shocked his friends and his older brothers when he quit the basketball team to play music in a ska band.

“I realized I can make money at this. We would play around L.A. and Hollywood, and some of the kids would see me the next day at school,” says Laws, who enjoyed being a minor celebrity at school.

Like his father, who left Earth Wind & Fire to pursue a solo career in the early ’70s, Jaman Laws has taken a break from backing other artists to focus on his solo career.

His debut album, “Imagery,” was produced by his father, and Jaman and Ronnie Laws will play five shows over three nights at Middle C Jazz next week. But first, this weekend, Ronnie Laws joins award-winning soul-jazz vocalist and actress Sy Smith — who fans may know from her performances with Chris Botti — for two concerts each on Friday and Saturday nights, also at Middle C.

(The L.A.-based Smith also honed her pipes in a support slot as a backup singer for Whitney Houston, Usher, and Chaka Khan. She counts acclaimed musical innovators Kamasi Washington and Thundercat among her former band members.)

“People say I sound like him as far as our tone goes,” says the younger Laws. “It’s inevitable when you grow up listening to someone your whole life. I don’t intentionally try to sound like him, but people think we do sound alike.”

He and his father certainly share influences — John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Roy Hargrove, for instance — although Jaman Laws admits that while he studies traditional jazz from the ’50s, he also digs the modern, hip sounds of Snarky Puppy, Robert Glasper and Christian Scott.

“I want to develop my own sound and my own music,” he says. “(Dad’s) already had his own style and sound. I want to be as original as I can.”

That’s why he’ll likely look for different collaborators on his follow-up album.

“As much as I love my dad and value his opinion, I can’t really be as free. You side with them on a lot of decisions. I want to do an album that’s more for a younger audience,” he explains. “I want to market toward my age group. Not 60 and up, but 40 and below. My last project could go either way. I can even see it going to a hip-hop or indie kind of sound — something fresh.”

On stage, where he backs his dad as well as performs his own set, Laws still plays the student.

“He’s a master. I still look at myself as a student,” he says. “I play that position most of the time until it’s my set or my turn to play. I can’t outplay him. He knows so much more than me.”

It’s not just music he’s absorbing on the road with his dad.

“This is something that me and my dad have in common,” Jaman Laws says. “It’s a learning experience, a time to bond, and I get to learn about the business. I watch how he talks to club owners and promoters on the phone, and interviews. I’ve been listening to him do interviews since I was a kid.”

Middle C Jazz shows

Sy Smith and Ronnie Laws will perform shows at 7 and 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Ronnie Laws’ shows with Jaman Laws are scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, and 7 and 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 7 and Saturday, Feb. 8.

Where: Middle C Jazz, 300 S. Brevard St.

Tickets: $30-$46.

Details: 704-595-3311; www.middlecjazz.com.