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WHOis? John E. Lawrence, director of Washtenaw Community College music program
By Steve Pepple
August 11, 2008, 1:20PM
Brian Reynolds | The Ann Arbor NewsJohn E. Lawrence, director of the Washtenaw Community College music performance program and founder of the school's "Living Legends" series, plays one of his many guitars in the back yard of his Ypsilanti Township home.
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Age: 53.
Claim to fame: Director of the Washtenaw Community College music performance program and founder of the school's Living Legends series, which brings famous acts like The Temptations, Mavis Staples and The Four Tops to the college. He's also recorded six CDs and written three instructional guitar books for Mel Bay publications.
Where do you live? Ypsilanti Township.
What do you do? I'm a professional musician, recording artist, I'm an author, I'm an instructor at WCC, director of the music performance program at WCC, and I'm the producer of the Living Legends series. It's my baby, basically, I'm the founder.
Do you collect anything? Guitars. I had 20 guitars at one point, then I got rid of some of them because I got tired of having to keep all the cases. Now I have 17 guitars. I have endorsements with two guitar companies.
What's your favorite album of all time? I collect albums, too. Well, now CDs, but before CDs, I used to buy albums every week since I was in high school. That's why it's hard to choose one that I like out of thousands. But my favorite jazz album would be George Benson, "Breezin'."
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WHOis: John E. Lawrence
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What's been your greatest success? Achieving the Morris Lawrence Award this year. That meant more to me than any other award that I've ever received because of what Morris Lawrence meant to me and, at the same time, it symbolizes what I mean to the college.
What's been your greatest failure? I'm the kind of guy that, if something doesn't work out for me, I still learn from it, so I don't look at them as failures, anyway. But one thing that I think I made a bad choice on was I was offered a recording contract with an independent record label, back when I was living at home with my parents, and I turned it down because I thought I could get a better deal. Looking back at it, I should have taken that. It was actually a label that would sign new artists and then sell them to major labels. ... I should have taken that opportunity, 'cause there's a lot of other people who have been on that label and were sold to other labels and are now big-time artists in the music industry.
If you could play music with anyone, living or dead, who would it be? I got a list of them. The first group would be Earth, Wind and Fire. I would like to play with Stevie Wonder. And there's a group called Tower of Power, who's very instrumental in my sound; I try to sound like that entire group when I'm playing on solo guitar. It's, like, a 10-piece band.
What is your favorite possession? My Gibson Super 400 guitar. I saw it at the Ypsilanti flea market years ago, and I bought it for $1,100. It's a collectors item, and now it's probably worth about $30,000. That is the guitar I'll never sell. I'll never get rid of it. It just feels like me. The first time I picked it up and played it at the flea market, it just sounded so good.
Inteview by Jordan Miller, The Ann Arbor News
- Ann Arbor News
Discography
CDs that I have released Old Smooth,Summer Nights, All By Myself,Merry Christmas from John E. Lawrence,Winter Wonderland, A Solo Guitar Christmas
Photos
Bio
John E. Lawrence, a life long resident of Ypsilanti is one of Michigan’s most talented and respected guitarists. John is now gaining national recognition with his recent contract with Mel Bay Publications, Inc., one of the country’s largest publishers of instructional materials. Mel Bay has produced for John a video tape entitled “Jazz Improvisation, Walking Bass Lines, and Chord Melodies.” Released in the summer of 2001 are three companion instructional books with compact discs (CD’s) which include "Improvising Solos for Guitar, "Walking Bass Solos and Chord Melody Solos. The books and CD’s can be used alone or in conjunction with the videotape. John’s most recent accomplishments include contracts to endorse Heritage Guitars, Takamine Guitars and La Bella Guitar Strings. He is also featured in Mel Bay’s “Collectors Edition Anthology of Jazz Guitar Solos” This collection features solos by some of the world’s finest jazz guitarist. John has also written two articles in Mel Bay’s Internet magazine, one entitled” Practice is the key to musical success” and another entitled “Blues Improvisation” for March and April 2000 issues.
Mr. Lawrence credits his musical talents first and foremost to God, then to the late Dr. Morris J. Lawrence Jr. (no relation). Dr. Lawrence was an instructor and chair of the Music Department at Washtenaw Community College (WCC). Under the tutelage of Dr. Lawrence, John was challenged and inspired to continuously improve his skills as a guitarist. Following in the footsteps of his mentor, John became an instructor at WCC where he has taught for 27 years and is presently the Director of the Music Performance Program. In less than two years he has developed over twenty-five new courses and three Certificate Programs (Guitar Studies, Piano Studies, Music Production and Engineering). In 2008 Washtenaw Community College awarded John with the Morris J. Lawrence award; which is the highest honor given to a faculty member. He as developed the “Living Legends Series.” The series provides a stage for famous recording artists to be interviewed and share their life stories in front of an audience followed by a question-and-answer period, and after a brief intermission the artist perform the concert. The program provides Washtenaw Community College students to receive firsthand knowledge from musical legends. The series has hosted artists such as: Mavis Staples, The Four Tops, Ashford and Simpson, Earl Klugh and The Temptations. John has been the opening act for the series and performs with most of the artist as Guitarist and Director of the Living Legends house band. In 2007 Dean of Humanities and Social Science Dr. Bill Abernethy awarded John with the Living Legend Award for successfully completing five years of the series.
In the realm of performance, Mr. Lawrence served as musical director and lead guitarist for vocalist Carl Carlton, who was the opening act for such famed artists as Smokey Robinson, Chaka Khan, Lionel Richie and the Commodores, Rick James, Teena Marie and Frankie Beverly and Maze.
Among Mr. Lawrence’s many accomplishments is a performance at Carnegie Hall. In addition to touring throughout the United States and performing at Jazz Festivals such as: Boston Globe, New Orleans, and Montreaux Detroit, he has performed in Haiti, Surinam, Germany, and the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.
John has made television appearances on three nationally syndicated programs: Kelly & Company, PM Magazine and Good Morning America.
One of Mr. Lawrence’s most memorable occasions was with legendary jazz guitarist, Mr. Kenny Burrell. Mr. Burrell asked John to sit in with him at the famed Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit, Michigan. After the performance, Kenny commended John on his playing ability.
His sound recordings include, The Supreme Dream, Old Smooth, Summer Nights, All By Myself, Merry Christmas from John E. Lawrence, Winter Wonder Land, , and A Solo Guitar Christmas.
For more information, please e-mail him at johnelaw@wccnet.edu
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