James Williams -

James Williams (March 8, 1951 — July 20, 2004) was an American post-bop/jazz-funk pianist, composer, and bandleader from Memphis. He spent 1977–81 with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, followed by work with Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, and Sonny Stitt. Williams led albums from the 1978 debut Flying Colors, co-founded the Contemporary Piano Ensemble, and later taught at Berklee and William Paterson University.

Background

James Williams was born on March 8, 1951, in Memphis, Tennessee. He began formal piano study at age 13 and served for six years as organist at Eastern Star Baptist Church. Williams attended Central High School and spent one year at Booker T. Washington High School. At Memphis State University, he studied music education and piano with graduate assistant Russell Wilson, earning a B.S. in Music Education.

At Memphis State, Williams wrote for and conducted several jazz groups. At the March 1972 Southern College Jazz Festival in Mobile, Williams received a piano performance award. The James Williams Quintet appeared the next year at the Midwest College Jazz Festival in Elmhurst and the American College Jazz Festival at Washington’s Kennedy Center.

Williams took his first professional engagement in 1972 with saxophonist Herman Green at a downtown Memphis Holiday Inn. Green taught Williams standards from the group book while the band played six nights a week for five hours a night. Harold Mabern sat in there on “On Green Dolphin Street” and “Secret Love,” while Phineas Newborn Jr. also joined the band on visits to the room.

Williams also played Memphis shows such as Shower of Stars and Memphis Music Awards with Isaac Hayes and Al Green. Vibraphonist Gary Burton heard Williams at Memphis State and recruited him to Berklee College of Music in Boston. Williams joined the faculty as an instructor in piano, harmony, and ensemble.

In Boston, Williams joined a quartet led by drummer Alan Dawson, who used the pianist in rhythm sections behind touring artists such as Milt Jackson, Art Farmer, and Sonny Stitt. Williams also led a trio and quintet in Boston. On July 6, 1977, he entered Blue Rock Studios in New York with trombonist Slide Hampton, bassist Sylvester Sample, drummer James Baker, and reed players Bill Easley and Bill Pierce for the Zim leader date that became Flying Colors.

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