Buster Williams

Last updated
Buster Williams
Buster Williams (cropped).jpg
Williams at Victoria during the 2016 Oslo Jazzfestival
Background information
Birth nameCharles Anthony Williams
Born (1942-04-17) April 17, 1942 (age 81)
Camden, New Jersey
GenresJazz, jazz fusion
Occupation(s)Musician
Instrument(s)Double bass
Years active1959–present
Website busterwilliams.com

Charles Anthony "Buster" Williams (born April 17, 1942) is an American jazz bassist. [1] Williams is known for his membership in pianist Herbie Hancock's early 1970s group, as well as working with guitarist Larry Coryell, the Thelonious Monk repertory band Sphere and as the accompanist of choice for many singers, including Nancy Wilson.

Contents

Biography

Early life and career

Williams' father, Charles Anthony Williams Sr., was a musician who played bass, drums, and piano, and had band rehearsals in the family home in Camden, New Jersey, exposing Williams to jazz at an early age. Williams was particularly inspired to focus on bass after hearing his father's record of Star Dust , performed by Oscar Pettiford, and started playing in his early teens.

He had his first professional gig while he was still a junior high school student, filling in for Charles Sr., who had double booked himself one evening. Williams later spent his days practicing with Sam Dockery, who was playing in Jimmy Heath's band in Philadelphia on a regular double bill with Sam Reed. Charles Sr. hosted a jam session at a club called Rip's and gave Williams the opportunity to put his own group together for a Monday night show in 1959, and in an effort to work his way into Heath's band, Williams hired Sam Reed. The plan worked, as two days later Reed contacted Williams about playing in his band that coming Saturday, which demonstrated Williams' talent to Heath, who in turn hired Williams the following week.

Williams attended Camden High School. [2] Just after graduating high school in 1960, Williams had the opportunity to play with Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt when Nelson Boyd reached out to Charles Sr. to cover for him. Charles Sr. was also unable to make the gig, and sent Buster in his stead. After the first set on a Friday night, Ammons and Stitt asked Williams to join the band on tour, starting in Chicago, after playing through the weekend in Philadelphia. Williams toured with them for about a year, from 1960 into 1961, until the group got stranded in Kansas City and was abandoned by Ammons, who fled without paying the band. The rhythm section managed to work with Al Hibbler for one week in order to earn enough for train fare to return home. Williams made his first two recordings with the Ammons/Stitt group in August 1961, Dig Him! for Argo Records and Boss Tenors for Verve, both recorded in Chicago. [3] [4] [5]

Education

Williams attended Combs College of Music in Philadelphia irregularly during and after his tenure with the Ammons/Stitt group. He learned composition, syntax, harmony and theory from Dr. Roland Wiggins. [3] [4]

Vocal accompanist

Williams was hired by Dakota Staton after hearing him at a gig in Wilmington, Delaware with the Gerald Price Trio in 1961. This was closely followed by work with Betty Carter in 1962 and Sarah Vaughan in 1963. Vaughan took him on his first European tour, during which he connected with the Miles Davis Quintet on the French Riviera. In 1964, Williams formed a more lasting working relationship with Nancy Wilson, with whom he recorded several albums for Capitol Records, and as a result he moved to Los Angeles. [3] [4] [5] Williams would go on to work with numerous other vocalists throughout his career, including Sathima Bea Benjamin, Shirley Horn, Betty Carter, Jonathan Schwartz, Carmen McRae, Roseanna Vitro, Helen Merrill, Nnenna Freelon, Jon Lucien, Marguerite Mariama, and Champian Fulton.

West Coast

Williams' move to the West Coast facilitated touring and recording with Nancy Wilson as well as The Jazz Crusaders, with whom he recorded five albums for Pacific Jazz. According to Williams, he was "the number one sub for Ray Brown" during this time, playing with Kenny Dorham, recording a date with the Harold Land/Bobby Hutcherson quintet, and ultimately working with Miles Davis for several months in 1967. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Herbie Hancock Sextet

In October 1968, Williams moved to New York City and continued to work steadily, playing shows with Art Blakey, Herbie Mann, and Mary Lou Williams, while recording for Atlantic, Blue Note, and Prestige with artists such as McCoy Tyner, Dexter Gordon, Roy Ayers, Stanley Turrentine, Frank Foster, Illinois Jacquet, and, once again, Gene Ammons (recently returned from a seven-year stint in Joliet). Having worked with Herbie Hancock in the Miles Davis Quintet, Williams became a fixture of Hancock's Mwandishi Sextet, recording three albums for Warner Bros., Sextant for Columbia, The Prisoner for Blue Note, and two more under Eddie Henderson's name for Capricorn. The Mwandishi Sextet explored new electronic sounds in jazz and featured Williams on both acoustic and electric bass. [4] [5] [6]

Debut as leader

Buster Williams made his recording debut as leader in 1975 with the album Pinnacle for Muse Records, and he went on to lead several more sessions for Muse, Denon, and Buddah through 1980. [5] He also backed Ron Carter on several recording dates which featured Carter soloing on piccolo bass. From the 1970s onward, Williams worked steadily as a sideman for Mary Lou Williams, Kenny Barron, Jimmy Rowles, Larry Coryell, Stanley Cowell, Steve Turre, and Frank Morgan, among others. [4] [5] [7] [8] [9] [10] For 18 years between 1980 and 1998, Williams made only one record as leader, 1989's Something More, with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Al Foster, and trumpeter Shunzo Ono, featuring five original compositions by Williams. He continues to perform with a rotating lineup as Buster Williams' "Something More", touring Europe in 2013 with Joey Baron, Eric Reed, and saxophonist Bruce Williams. [4] Beginning with Somewhere Along the Way in 1998, Williams increased his output as leader into the new century, notably recording Griot Libertè for HighNote in 2004, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Rudy Van Gelder and released in the Hybrid SACD format with a 5.0 surround sound mix. [11] In June 2008, Williams self-released Live Volume 1 exclusively as a digital download.

Further collaborations

At BIM Amsterdam as a member of the Wallace Roney Quintet, 2015 Wallace Roney Quintet 25 maart 2015 BIM Amsterdam - Buster Williams (51299321943).jpg
At BIM Amsterdam as a member of the Wallace Roney Quintet, 2015

Williams was nominated for a Grammy Award for his work with Hank Jones and Tony Williams on Love For Sale, the first of Jones' records credited to "The Great Jazz Trio". Williams also continued to tour with Herbie Hancock throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and performed at a Grammy Awards ceremony with Hancock, Tony Williams, and Bobby McFerrin. 1982 saw Williams form two important collaborative ensembles, the Timeless All-Stars, a sextet featuring Harold Land, Curtis Fuller, Bobby Hutcherson, Cedar Walton, and Billy Higgins, which recorded four albums for the Dutch label Timeless Records, and Sphere, featuring Kenny Barron, Ben Riley, Charlie Rouse, and later Gary Bartz. [4] [5] Sphere began as a tribute to Thelonious Monk, making their first recording for Elektra on February 17, 1982, the day Monk died, but soon incorporated the band members' own compositions along with other jazz standards. [12]

Recent work

Williams performing in 2008. Buster Williams (2423796564).jpg
Williams performing in 2008.

From 2010 into 2014, Buster Williams toured with Sonny Fortune, Mike Stern, and Jimmy Cobb as "4 Generations of Miles", named after a 2002 concert and recording for Chesky representing four different eras of Miles Davis bands. The original group featured Ron Carter and George Coleman in place of Williams and Fortune. [13] The Buster Williams School of Music developed from a summer class Williams ran for the IDEA Performing Arts Center in Camden in 2012. Williams formed his own non-profit corporation to continue this work in 2013. [14] "Something More" performed at the Portland Jazz Festival and Dimitriou's Jazz Alley in February 2014, this time consisting of Williams' former Mwandishi bandmates Bennie Maupin and Julian Priester, along with Cindy Blackman-Santana and George Colligan. [15] Williams made a short tour of Europe in March 2014 as part of the Steve Kuhn trio with Billy Drummond.

Film and television work

Williams worked on several film soundtracks and television commercials (including Coca-Cola, Budweiser, and Old Spice) throughout his career. The 1969 film Mackenna's Gold featured Williams on the soundtrack working under Quincy Jones. Williams reunited with Ron Carter for Alain Corneau's 1981 film Le Choix des Armes, with music composed by Philippe Sarde and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. In the 1990s, Williams worked with Angelo Badalamenti on David Lynch's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and with Terence Blanchard for the Spike Lee film Clockers . Williams made several television appearances as well, performing five of his own compositions with Branford Marsalis' The Tonight Show band, and backing Erroll Garner during an earlier Tonight Show appearance. He appeared on The Andy Williams Show with Nancy Wilson, with Bill Cosby on The Joan Rivers Show, and with Joe Williams on Sesame Street . [4] Williams appeared as himself in the 2004 Steven Spielberg film The Terminal, playing in Benny Golson's quartet with Mike LeDonne and Carl Allen. [16] In 2019, Buster Williams, From Bass to Infinity , a documentary film by Adam Kahan was released about Williams' life, career and philosophy. [17]

Personal life

Williams was married in 1965 to Veronica, whom he met in junior high school, and as of 2014, he lives in Camden with his wife. [14] [18] Introduced to chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo by his sister in 1972, Williams and his wife took up the Nichiren Buddhist practice after she suffered a concussion in a car accident, and he has continued the practice ever since as a member of the global Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International. [3] [19] His 2004 album Griot Libertè was inspired by another health crisis when Veronica recovered from a coma following a heart attack. [18]

Awards and honors

In addition to his Grammy nomination, Williams was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant for composition as well as a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship Grant in 1991. Williams has also been recognized by the Min-On Concert Association, RVC Corporation, and Soka Gakkai International. [4]

Critical reception

The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD declared Buster Williams "one of the key sidemen in modern jazz" with "a rock-solid grounding in harmony, counterpoint and orchestration." The guide observed that "Buster's harmony is impeccable and he has a rhythmic sense that is unfailing, feeling and utterly original." [20] Critic Ron Wynn ranked the Mwandishi Sextet "among the finest jazz-rock and pop-tinged units of all time." [6] Critic Thomas Conrad praised Williams' work as a leader in his Down Beat review of the 2001 album Houdini, stating that the album "could in fact be taken as a clinic for bassists on how to assume a more proactive, forward position in an ensemble without throwing it out of balance," and that "in [Williams'] hands, the bass is a fully articulate solo voice." [21]

Gear

Williams' instrument is a copy of a late-1800s Boosey & Hawkes Panormo, using La Bella strings and a Fishman BP-100 pickup, with a 1x15 Polytone Mini-Brute bass amp. [6]

Discography

As leader

As sideman

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Carter</span> American musician and composer (born 1937)

Ronald Levin Carter is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy Awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded numerous times on that instrument.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herbie Hancock</span> American jazz pianist and composer (born 1940)

Herbert Jeffrey Hancock is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the post-bop sound. In the 1970s, Hancock experimented with jazz fusion, funk, and electro styles, using a wide array of synthesizers and electronics. It was during this period that he released perhaps his best-known and most influential album, Head Hunters.

<i>Head Hunters</i> 1973 studio album by Herbie Hancock

Head Hunters is the twelfth studio album by American pianist, keyboardist and composer Herbie Hancock, released October 26, 1973, on Columbia Records. Recording sessions for the album took place in the evening at Wally Heider Studios and Different Fur Trading Co. in San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Heath</span> American drummer

Albert "Tootie" Heath is an American jazz hard bop drummer, the brother of tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the double-bassist Percy Heath.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny Stitt</span> American jazz saxophonist (1924–1982)

Sonny Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording more than 100 albums. He was nicknamed the "Lone Wolf" by jazz critic Dan Morgenstern because of his tendency to rarely work with the same musicians for long despite his relentless touring and devotion to the craft. Stitt was sometimes viewed as a Charlie Parker mimic, especially earlier in his career, but gradually came to develop his own sound and style, particularly when performing on tenor saxophone and even occasionally baritone saxophone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bennie Maupin</span> American jazz musician

Bennie Maupin is an American jazz multireedist who performs on various saxophones, flute, and bass clarinet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Coleman</span> American jazz saxophonist

George Edward Coleman is an American jazz saxophonist known for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. In 2015, he was named an NEA Jazz Master.

<i>Mwandishi</i> 1971 studio album by Herbie Hancock

Mwandishi is the ninth album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released in 1971. It is the first album to officially feature Hancock’s ‘Mwandishi’ sextet consisting of saxophonist Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, trombonist Julian Priester, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Hart</span> American jazz drummer and educator

Billy Hart is an American jazz drummer and educator. He is known internationally for his work with Herbie Hancock's "Mwandishi" band in the early 1970s, as well as with Shirley Horn, Stan Getz, and Quest, among many others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junior Mance</span> American jazz pianist and composer (1928–2021)

Julian Clifford Mance, Jr., known as Junior Mance, was an American jazz pianist and composer.

<i>Quartet</i> (Herbie Hancock album) 1982 studio album by Herbie Hancock

Quartet is the thirty-fourth album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, featuring a quartet with trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams. It was originally issued in Japan on CBS/Sony, and later given a US release by Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Duvivier</span> American jazz double-bassist

George Duvivier was an American jazz double-bassist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miles Davis Quintet</span> Jazz band led by Miles Davis

The Miles Davis Quintet was an American jazz band from 1955 to early 1969 led by Miles Davis. The quintet underwent frequent personnel changes toward its metamorphosis into a different ensemble in 1969. Most references pertain to two distinct and relatively stable bands: the First Great Quintet from 1955 to 1959, and the Second Great Quintet from late 1964 to early 1969, Davis being the only constant throughout.

<i>Crossings</i> (Herbie Hancock album) 1972 studio album by Herbie Hancock

Crossings is the tenth album by jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, released in 1972. It is the second album in his Mwandishi period, which saw him experimenting in electronics and funk with a sextet featuring saxophonist Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, trombonist Julian Priester, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart. The album is the band's first to feature synthesizer player Patrick Gleeson. He was scheduled to "set up his Moog for Hancock to play." However, Hancock was so impressed with Gleeson that he "asked Gleeson not only to do the overdubs on the album but join the group."

<i>Fat Albert Rotunda</i> 1969 studio album by Herbie Hancock

Fat Albert Rotunda is the eighth album by jazz keyboardist Herbie Hancock, released in 1969. It was Hancock's first release for Warner Bros. Records after his departure from Blue Note Records. The music was originally done for the TV special Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Fat Albert, which later inspired the Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids TV show.

<i>VSOP</i> (album) 1977 live album by Herbie Hancock

V.S.O.P. is a 1977 double live album by keyboardist Herbie Hancock, featuring acoustic jazz performances by the V.S.O.P. Quintet, jazz fusion/ jazz-funk performances by the ‘Mwandishi’ band and The Headhunters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Colley</span> American jazz double bassist and composer

Scott Colley is an American jazz double bassist and composer. He has performed in bands led by Herbie Hancock, T. S. Monk, Jim Hall, Andrew Hill, Michael Brecker, Chris Potter, Pat Metheny, Carmen McRae, Edward Simon, Adam Rogers, Brian Blade, David Binney, Antonio Sanchez, and Kenny Werner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mickey Roker</span> American drummer

Granville William "Mickey" Roker was an American jazz drummer.

Lawrence Bernard Gales was an American jazz double-bassist.

V.S.O.P. was an American jazz quintet consisting of Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter (bass), Tony Williams (drums), and Freddie Hubbard . Hancock, Shorter, Carter, and Williams had all been members of Miles Davis' "Second Great Quintet" during the 1960s. The name V.S.O.P. is taken from a grade of Cognac brandy, where it signifies aged stock.

References

  1. ↑ Yonke, David. "Buster Williams brings New York jazz to Toledo". Toledo Blade , November 16, 1993, p. P-1. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  2. ↑ Wynn, Ron. "Buster Williams: Blendability", JazzTimes , April 1, 2001. Accessed September 2, 2019. "Though Williams began working professionally upon graduating from Camden High School in Camden, New Jersey, he eventually took some courses in Composition and Harmony and Theory at Combs College of Music in Philadelphia."
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Colligan, George. "The Buster Williams Interview", Jazz Truth. Blogger, July 7, 2013. Web. February 19, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Biography" Archived 2012-01-25 at the Wayback Machine , Buster Williams website.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ginell, Richard S. "Buster Williams|Biography" AllMusic. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Wynn, Ron. "Buster Williams: Blendability." JazzTimes, April 2001. Web. March 19, 2014.
  7. ↑ Pittsburgh Press . "Jazz Pianist Opening Here Monday". October 19, 1974, p. 11. Retrieved on June 1, 2013.
  8. ↑ Palmer, Robert. "Jazz scene is now devoid of bands". Times Daily , January 15, 1984, p. 10E. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ Hentoff, Nat. "Cookin' at the Cookery". The Village Voice , March 21, 1974, p. 47. Retrieved on June 1, 2013.
  10. ↑ Murthi, R.S. "Man with the lyrical horn". New Straits Times , June 17, 1990, p. 18. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
  11. ↑ Henry, John. "SACD/DVD-A Jazz Reviews 10/04". Audiophile Audition. October 2004. Web. March 4, 2014.
  12. ↑ Yanow, Scott. "Artist Biography by Scott Yanow". AllMusic. Web. March 4, 2014.
  13. ↑ Santella, Jim. "George Coleman, Mike Stern, Ron Carter, Jimmy Cobb: 4 Generations Of Miles (2002)". All About Jazz. October 1, 2002. Web. March 4, 2014.
  14. 1 2 "Buster Williams School of Music | About". Buster Williams School of Music. 2014. Web. March 4, 2014.
  15. ↑ Barros, Paul de. "Cecile McLorin Salvant, Julian Priester Shine at Portland Jazz Festival". The Seattle Times. February 24, 2014. Web. March 4, 2014.
  16. ↑ Boccella, Kathy. "Jazz Legend Buster Williams Brings His Groove to Abington Friends". Philly.com. Interstate General Media LLC, February 5, 2013. Web. March 4, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Watch Buster Williams: Bass to Infinity | Prime Video". Amazon.
  18. 1 2 Sewell, Rhonda B. "Emergency inspires jazz bassist's new CD". Toledo Blade, September 15, 2004, p. D3. Retrieved on June 1, 2013.
  19. ↑ Monica Piccini "The Way I Do Kosen-Rufu". Buddismo, October 12, 2008. Retrieved on August 24, 2014.
  20. ↑ Cook, Richard, and Brian Morton. The Penguin Guide to Jazz on CD, London: Penguin, 2000.
  21. ↑ Conrad, Thomas, "Buster Williams Trio: Houdini", Down Beat, November 2001: 69-70.
  22. ↑ "Jazz Legends # 1, by Michal Urbaniak feat Kenny Barron, Buster Williams & Roy Haynes". UbxMusic. Retrieved 2021-06-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.