Laws is a case of a talented musician who is hard to categorise and who is largely misunderstood. To jazz-funk fans he is the man who enjoyed a hit with the endearingly soulful ‘Family’ in the 1980s, while older audiences recall his work for Atlantic back in the 1960s. Throughout he also made albums partially, or fully, devoted to classical music. This trio of 1970s CTI releases finds him in fusion mode, though tellingly he can’t resist a take on Bach’s ‘Passacaglia In C Minor’ on the Carnegie Hall live album. In terms of repertoire that is the most interesting of the batch, with spirited renditions of Chick Corea’s ‘Windows’ and James Taylor’s ‘Fire And Rain’ proving how convincingly versatile Laws could be. He’s backed by a fine band that included royalty such as Ron Carter, so the standard of playing is high. Don Sebesky’s string arrangements vary in quality and he reappears on The Chicago Theme, one of the most maddeningly inconsistent entries in Laws’ discography, veering between schmaltzy commercialism and tasty grooves. Beatmakers take note. Taken together, the three discs really underline Laws’ musicianship and the need for him to have been better produced over the years. Any newcomers to his music would be well served by an intelligently curated ‘Best Of’ rather than stacks of reissues.