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{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Rick Laird
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Richard Quentin Laird
| alias =
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In 1966, Laird won a scholarship to study at [[Berklee College of Music]] in [[Boston|Boston, Massachusetts]] after sending a tape of himself playing with [[Stan Getz]]. Here, Laird studied arranging, composition, and the string bass.<ref name=GP80/> In 1968, he took up the bass guitar "so I could be heard."<ref name=BP99>{{cite journal|title=Bass Notes: Where are They Now?|first=Chris|last=Jisi|journal=Bass Player|date=November 1999}}</ref> He gained influence to take up the instrument after seeing [[The Tony Williams Lifetime]] in concert.<ref name=BP99/>
[[File:Between Nothingness and Eternity trade advert 1973.png|thumb|Laird as part of the band [[Mahavishnu Orchestra]] in an advertisement in 1973. From left to right: [[Jerry Goodman]], [[Jan Hammer]], [[John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin]], [[Billy Cobham]], Rick Laird]]
Laird was a founding member and electric bassist of the [[jazz fusion]] band [[Mahavishnu Orchestra]], the original line-up of which were active from June 1971 to December 1973.<ref name=GP80>{{cite web|url=https://users.cs.cf.ac.uk/Dave.Marshall/mclaughlin/art/laird.html|title=Rick Laird: Jazz Bassist with Richie Cole, Buddy Rich, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra|first=Arnie|last=Belle|work=Guitar Player|date=July 1980|access-date=5 July 2021}}</ref> ''[[Guitar Player]]'' described Laird's playing: "Laird's solid, economical lines in conjunction with [[Billy Cobham]]'s meticulous, powerful drumming provided a strong anchor for the odd-tempo and often volatile solos [from the rest of the band]".<ref name=GP80/> After the band split, Laird moved to New York City and played with Stan Getz (a tour in 1977) and [[Chick Corea]] (a tour the following year). Laird put out one album as a leader, ''Soft Focus''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/soft-focus-mw0000764768 |title=Rick Laird: Soft Focus |first=Michael G. |last=Nastos |website=AllMusic |access-date=October 2, 2022}}</ref>
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