Buster Williams, From Bass to Infinity

Last updated

Buster Williams: Bass to Infinity is a documentary film about renowned jazz bassist, Buster Williams. [1] Created and directed by Adam Kahan, the documentary was released in 2019. [2] The film shows rare jazz improv with legendary Buster Williams and other jazz greats including Herbie Hancock and Rufus Reid, an interview with bassist Christian McBride, and footage with Nancy Wilson and Sarah Vaughan with whom Williams accompanied during his early years. Animation weaves through depicting Williams' entry into the world of jazz and performances on the road. [3]

The film also shows Williams' personal life, especially his membership with the Soka Gakkai Movement and his practice of Nichiren Buddhism. [4]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the festival releases were truncated. [5] The film screened had its West Coast Premiere at the International Buddhist Film Festival in San Rafael, CA in December 2021. [6] The Blu-Ray disc is scheduled to be released in 2022.

Related Research Articles

Herbie Hancock American musician

Herbert Jeffrey Hancock is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, composer, and occasional actor. 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, utilizing 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>Round Midnight</i> (film) 1986 film by Bertrand Tavernier

Round Midnight is a 1986 American-French musical drama film directed by Bertrand Tavernier and written by Tavernier and David Rayfiel. It stars Dexter Gordon, François Cluzet and Herbie Hancock. Martin Scorsese, Philippe Noiret and Wayne Shorter appear in cameos.

Wayne Shorter American jazz saxophonist and composer

Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Davis's Second Great Quintet, and then co-founded the jazz fusion band Weather Report. He has recorded over 20 albums as a bandleader.

<i>Maiden Voyage</i> (Herbie Hancock album) 1965 studio album by Herbie Hancock

Maiden Voyage is the fifth album led by jazz musician Herbie Hancock, and was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder on March 17th, 1965 for Blue Note Records. It was issued as BLP 4195 and BST 84195. Featuring Hancock with tenor saxophonist George Coleman, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams, it is a concept album aimed at creating an oceanic atmosphere. As such, many of the track titles refer to marine biology or the sea, and the musicians develop the concept through their use of space. The album was presented with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.

<i>Future 2 Future</i> Album by Herbie Hancock

Future 2 Future is the forty-third album by Herbie Hancock. Hancock reunited with producer Bill Laswell. The two tried to repeat the success of the three previous albums that combine jazz with electronic music.

Paul Jerome Jackson Jr. was an American jazz electric bassist and composer. He was a founding member of the Headhunters and played on several of Herbie Hancock's albums, including Head Hunters and Thrust. Jackson subsequently moved to Japan and started a voluntary concert called Jazz for Kids, with the intent of familiarizing students there with African-American history.

<i>Sextant</i> (album) 1973 studio album by Herbie Hancock

Sextant is the eleventh studio album by Herbie Hancock, released in 1973 by Columbia. It is the last album with the Mwandishi-era sextet featuring saxophonist Bennie Maupin, trumpeter Eddie Henderson, trombonist Julian Priester, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Billy Hart. Synthesizer player Patrick Gleeson and percussionist Buck Clarke also appear.

George Colligan American musician

George Colligan is an American jazz pianist, organist, drummer, trumpeter, educator, composer, and bandleader.

<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.

<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.

Robert Glasper American jazz pianist, record producer, and songwriter from Texas

Robert Andre Glasper is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and musical arranger with a career that bridges several different musical and artistic genres, mostly centered around jazz. To date, Glasper has won four Grammy Awards and received nine nominations across eight categories.

Buster Williams American jazz bassist

Charles Anthony "Buster" Williams is an American jazz bassist. Williams is known for his membership in pianist Herbie Hancock's early 1970s group, working with guitarist Larry Coryell from the 1980s to present, working in the Thelonious Monk repertory band Sphere and as the accompanist of choice for many singers, including Nancy Wilson.

<i>My Point of View</i> 1963 studio album by Herbie Hancock

My Point of View is the second album by pianist Herbie Hancock. It was released in 1963 on Blue Note Records as BLP 4126 and BST 84126. Musicians featured are trumpeter Donald Byrd, trombonist Grachan Moncur III, tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley, guitarist Grant Green, bassist Chuck Israels and drummer Tony Williams.

<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>The Prisoner</i> (album) 1969 studio album by Herbie Hancock

The Prisoner is the seventh Herbie Hancock album, recorded and released in 1969 for the Blue Note label, his final project for the label before moving to Warner Bros. Records. It is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who had been assassinated the previous year. Hancock suggested at the time that he had been able to get closer to his real self with this music than on any other previous album. Participating musicians include tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, trumpeter Johnny Coles, trombonist Garnett Brown, flautist Hubert Laws, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath. Hancock praised flute player Laws, suggesting that he was one of the finest flautists in classical or jazz music.

<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. The concert was advertised as a "Herbie Hancock Retrospective," and Miles Davis, who was several months into his temporary retirement, was advertised as playing with the V.S.O.P. group. According to concert attendees, on the night of the show a handwritten sign was posted on the lobby door announcing that Davis would not be playing, but that Hubbard would be appearing instead.

<i>Round Midnight</i> (soundtrack) 1986 soundtrack album by Herbie Hancock

Round Midnight is a soundtrack album by Herbie Hancock featuring music recorded for Bertrand Tavernier's film Round Midnight released in 1986 on Columbia Records. The album features performances by Hancock, trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Tony Williams, vocalist Bobby McFerrin, tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon, bassist Pierre Michelot, drummer Billy Higgins, guitarist John McLaughlin, trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson, saxophonist Wayne Shorter, vocalist Lonette McKee, and pianist Cedar Walton, most of whom appear in the film. It won the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Score in 1986, beating Ennio Morricone's The Mission and Jerry Goldsmith's Hoosiers, among others. Additional music recorded during the making of the film was released under Dexter Gordon's name as The Other Side of Round Midnight (1986).

<i>Live at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival</i> 2007 live album by Miles Davis

Live at the 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival is a live album by Miles Davis released on July 31, 2007, and recorded in September 20, 1963. Davis searched for new musicians for his quintet, after splitting with saxophonist John Coltrane in 1960. The new quintet consists of saxophonist George Coleman, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams. It was recorded at the Monterey Jazz Festival in the early fall of 1963.

<i>Third Plane</i> 1977 studio album by Ron Carter

Third Plane is an album by jazz bassist Ron Carter, released on the Milestone label in 1977. It features performances by Carter, Herbie Hancock and Tony Williams.

References

  1. Youll, Mark (2021-06-02). "Buster Williams: Bass To Infinity". Jazz Journal. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  2. "BUSTER WILLIAMS BASS TO INFINITY". DOC NYC. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. "Film Review: "Buster Williams: Bass to Infinity" - Portrait of a Jazz Artist". The Arts Fuse. 2021-05-31. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  4. Herbie Hancock on Buster Williams , retrieved 2022-01-14
  5. Jazz, All About. "Buster Williams: Bass to Infinity article @ All About Jazz". All About Jazz. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  6. "International Buddhist Film Festival 2021 Schedule | BUDDHIST FILM FOUNDATION". BUDDHIST FILM FOUNDATION |. 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2022-01-14.