It may surprise you that saxophonist Ronnie Laws, who plays the August Wilson Center on Saturday for his first local performance in about two decades, became a musical star in his own right without the help of his older brother Hubert. But that's just the way he wanted it.

In fact, with the Julliard-educated flutist 11 years Ronnie's senior making a name for himself in New York in the 1970s, "I made a deliberate decision to go to the other coast," the Los Angeles-based Ronnie Laws says. "I wanted to test myself to see if I could make it on my own without [riding on] his coattails."

The younger Mr. Laws did so in the mid-to-late 1970s with a number of radio hits that big brother never had.

Not that you'll hear any of his most recent material on terrestrial radio today.

"I don't think that's a personal thing," Mr. Laws says. "That's the nature of the industry" to focus upon what's popular these days, at least in America. "You get the cross-section of formats in other countries," especially Europe.

Born and reared in Houston, the 60-year-old Mr. Laws grew up knowing members of the Crusaders, who also came from there. "I used to walk around with their albums," he says. "I used to watch them rehearse. [Trombonist] Wayne Henderson lived right behind us." He credits as influences John Coltrane, David "Fathead" Newman, Arnett Cobb and Wilton Felder, the last three known for their "Texas tenor sound."

Besides his brother, a former Crusader, sisters Eloise and Debra are renowned vocalists, and a grandfather who played blues harmonica inspired Ronnie Laws' 1980 hit "Every Generation." Still, he says, "It was not a situation where we were all at home at once and playing instruments" because of the range of ages.."

However, Hubert's success did inspire other family members to pursue musical careers. Even before he lit out for California, "I already established a strong name in Texas, playing in a club with Kenny Rogers and doing session work," Mr. Laws says.

In the early 1970s, Mr. Laws was a member of the band Earth, Wind & Fire but already was focusing on a solo career.

"I always knew they were going to be successful because of the leadership of Maurice White -- his professionalism was very evident," Mr. Laws says. "It wasn't an easy decision [to leave the band] because I had just gotten married and had a child on the way. When I left, it was a challenging time, but ... I had resolved in my heart that I had to do what I had to do."

The persistence paid off with a deal with Blue Note Records and his first album, 1975's "Pressure Sensitive." The album spawned the now-classic "Always There," which has since become so widely performed that Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun once remarked that "It should have been declared an anthem because it's been covered by so many groups" -- 75 by Mr. Laws' count.

Though Mr. Laws has always blended jazz, pop and R&B, he says "that term 'smooth jazz' is never appealing to me [because that blend] was reflected in what I grew up with," artists such as Grover Washington Jr., Herbie Hancock and Donald Byrd. "I told BA" -- Broadcast Architecture, the marketing firm that created the "smooth jazz" radio format in the 1990s -- " 'I'd rather not have you play my music.' I'm not too affected -- my records are being played" in places such as Portland, Ore.

Mr. Laws says that he's looking forward to returning to Pittsburgh and recalls doing concerts at the Stanley Theatre: "Al Jarreau opened for me."

First Published: May 12, 2011, 4:00 a.m.