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Hugh Lawson (March 12, 1935 – March 11, 1997), was one of many talented Detroit jazz pianists of the 1950s (although one of the lesser-known players).

Inspired by Bud Powell, Hampton Hawes and arguably Bill Evans, Lawson first gained recognition for his work with Yusef Lateef during the late '50s. He recorded with Harry "Sweets" Edison (1962), Roy Brooks, and Lateef on several occasions in the 1960s. In 1972, he was with the Piano Choir (a group with seven pianists, among which Stanley Cowell, Sonelius Smith, and Harold Mabern). Lawson went on tours with Charles Mingus in 1975 and 1977 and made recordings with Charlie Rouse (1977), George Adams, and as a leader for Jazzcraft (a session later reissued on Storyville) and Soul Note.

Lawson died of colon cancer in White Plains, NY, March 11, 1997, at the age of 61.

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