Prince Lasha

Born in Fort Worth, Texas on September 10, 1929, avant-garde jazz alto saxophonist William Lawsha was better known by his stage name Prince Lasha. While the alto sax was his main instrument, he also played flute, clarinet, piccolo, and alto flute. While attending I.M. Terrell High School – Fort Worth’s first school for African Americans – he studied alongside King Curtis, Ornette Coleman, Dewey Redman, Charles Moffett, and others. Prince Lasha relocated to California in the 1950s and became involved with the free jazz movement which was spearheaded by his old classmate Ornette Coleman. In 1962, Prince Lasha collaborated with fellow sax player Sonny Simmons on the album The Cry. The following year, he recorded sessions with Eric Dolphy, Elvin Jones & Jimmy Garrison, Don Cherry, McCoy Tyner, and others. He moved to Kensington, England in 1966 and formed the Prince Lasha Ensemble and recorded the album Insight. Back in the United States the following year, he reunited with Simmons and recorded the critically acclaimed album Firebirds (1967). In the 1970s, he formed a band called Firebirds and released several live albums by the band. Prince Lasha returned as a bandleader in 1981 with the album Inside Story. His final album was The Mystery of Prince Lasha (2005), a collaboration with the Odean Pope Trio. Prince Lasha died at the age of 79 on December 12, 2008.

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