Editing Rick Laird (section)

===Early career===
At sixteen, Laird moved to New Zealand with his father and worked on a sheep farm. It was there where he took music seriously, first picking up an Australian [[Maton]] guitar, learning chords, and playing along to songs on the radio. After listening to an [[Oscar Peterson]] record featuring bassist [[Ray Brown (musician)|Ray Brown]], Laird noted Brown "doing such incredible things" and started to play bass lines on his guitar. He bought a string bass and played along to Brown's records, and two weeks later he joined a local group in [[Auckland]]. It was there, at eighteen, where Laird "quit his day job" and became a professional bassist.<ref name=GP80/>

Laird's first band soon split, but he joined another which featured pianist [[Mike Nock]] and toured New Zealand extensively.<ref name=GP80/> When Laird was nineteen, he moved to [[Sydney]], Australia for two years, where there was a more active jazz scene. There, he played with many top jazz musicians including [[Don Burrows]], and performed in jazz quartets on the radio. Around this time, Laird's goal was to relocate to the US, but he was encouraged to relocate to England in 1962.<ref name=GP80/>

While in England, Laird toured with the vocal ensemble Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross, which led to a stint with [[Zoot Sims]] and saxophonist [[Al Cohn]], followed by session work. From 1963 to 1964, Laird studied at the [[Guildhall School of Music and Drama]] and played in [[Brian Auger and the Trinity|The Brian Auger Trinity]] (July 1963–February 1964) and The Brian Auger Group (February–October 1964), the latter of which featured guitarist [[John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin]].<ref name=GP80/> Laird clashed with Auger when he was asked to switch from upright to electric bass to complement the music they were playing, but Laird refused. Laird then accepted the offer to become house bassist at [[Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club]], playing with many visiting musicians including [[Wes Montgomery]] and [[Sonny Stitt]]. It became a valuable learning experience for Laird, as the group were given considerable freedom and Laird received constructive and helpful advice from the other musicians.<ref name=GP80/> Laird is featured on the soundtrack of ''[[Alfie (1966 film)|Alfie]]'' (1966) with [[Sonny Rollins]]. With [[Buddy Rich]], he played a residence at [[Talk of the Town (nightclub)|The Talk of the Town]] in 1969.{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}