Tommy Williams was an American jazz double bassist. He played with Art Farmer, Benny Golson, Stan Getz [1] [2] and others before he stopped playing in the 1960s. His last recording from that period was in 1965. [3] He returned to playing years later, but, according to Golson, "died before he could reestablish himself." [3] He played in the Jazztet, where, Golson reported, "I hated to follow [Williams'] bass solos [...] because he could put horn players to shame." [3] He also played alto saxophone, piano, and vibraphone, but, according to pianist Ronnie Matthews, "Bass is what everybody wanted him for because that was the thing that would make your hair stand on end when you heard him play it." [4] In February 1965 Williams played in the Quincy Jones orchestra for the soundtrack to the film The Pawnbroker . [5]
Accounts of why he left music vary. Golson reported that Williams worked in a hardware store after his wife forced him to stop playing; [3] pianist Ronnie Matthews suggested that "he was the kind of person who for whatever reason could never deal with the bullshit business part of the music business. [...] one morning when he was coming home from work with his bass, he got mugged. He just stopped playing and went to work for Sears Roebuck." [4]
Williams latterly lived in Dean Street, Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, Audrey. [6]
Year recorded | Leader | Title | Label |
---|---|---|---|
1958 | Gene Rodgers | Introducing the Gene Rodgers Trio | Mercury |
1959 | Carmen McRae | Something to Swing About | Kapp |
1959 | Billy Taylor | Billy Taylor with Four Flutes | Riverside |
1960 | Art Farmer | Art | Argo |
1960 | The Jazztet | Big City Sounds | Argo |
1960 | Kai Winding and J. J. Johnson | The Great Kai & J. J. | Impulse! |
1960–61 | The Jazztet | The Jazztet and John Lewis | Argo |
1960–61 | Benny Golson | Take a Number from 1 to 10 | Argo |
1960–61 | Blue Mitchell | Smooth as the Wind | Riverside |
1961 | Art Farmer | Perception | Argo |
1960 | The Jazztet | The Jazztet at Birdhouse | Argo |
1962 | Stan Getz | Big Band Bossa Nova | Verve |
1963 | Stan Getz and Luiz Bonfá | Jazz Samba Encore! | Verve |
1965 | Quincy Jones | The Pawnbroker [soundtrack] | Mercury |
Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launching his solo career. Golson is known for co-founding and co-leading The Jazztet with trumpeter Art Farmer in 1959. From the late 1960s through the 1970s Golson was in demand as an arranger for film and television and thus was less active as a performer, but he and Farmer re-formed the Jazztet in 1982.
Cedar Anthony Walton, Jr. was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and composer. Several of his compositions have become jazz standards, including "Mosaic", "Bolivia", "Holy Land", "Mode for Joe" and "Fantasy in D".
Arthur Stewart Farmer was an American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. He also played flumpet, a trumpet–flugelhorn combination especially designed for him. He and his identical twin brother, double bassist Addison Farmer, started playing professionally while in high school. Art gained greater attention after the release of a recording of his composition "Farmer's Market" in 1952. He subsequently moved from Los Angeles to New York, where he performed and recorded with musicians such as Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins, and Gigi Gryce and became known principally as a bebop player.
Albert "Tootie" Heath is an American jazz hard bop drummer, the brother of tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath and the double-bassist Percy Heath.
"I Remember Clifford" is an instrumental jazz threnody written by jazz tenor saxophonist Benny Golson in memory of Clifford Brown, the influential and highly regarded jazz trumpeter who died in an auto accident at the age of 25. Brown and Golson had done a stint in Lionel Hampton's band together. The original recording was by Donald Byrd in January 1957.
Ronnie Stephenson was an English jazz drummer. He was one of the most in-demand drummers on the British jazz scene in the 1960s.
Addison Gerald Farmer was an American jazz bassist. He was the twin brother of Art Farmer.
Thomas S. McIntosh was an American jazz trombonist, composer, arranger, and conductor.
Mickey Tucker is an American jazz pianist and organist.
Meet the Jazztet is an album by the Jazztet, led by trumpeter Art Farmer and saxophonist Benny Golson featuring performances recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Argo label.
Big City Sounds is an album by The Jazztet, led by trumpeter Art Farmer and saxophonist Benny Golson, featuring performances recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Argo label.
The Jazztet and John Lewis is an album by the Jazztet, led by trumpeter Art Farmer and saxophonist Benny Golson and featuring performances composed and arranged by John Lewis. It was recorded in late 1960 and early 1961 and originally released on the Argo label.
Take a Number from 1 to 10 is an album by saxophonist Benny Golson, featuring performances recorded in late 1960 and early 1961 and originally released on the Argo label.
The Jazztet at Birdhouse is a live album by the Jazztet, led by trumpeter Art Farmer and saxophonist Benny Golson. It features performances recorded in Chicago in 1961 and was originally released on the Argo label.
Art is an album by trumpeter Art Farmer, featuring performances recorded in 1960 and originally released on the Argo label. Farmer stated in 1995 that the album, which consists mainly of ballads, was his favorite.
Turning Point is an album by saxophonist Benny Golson, featuring performances recorded in late 1962 and originally released on the Mercury label.
Free is an album by saxophonist Benny Golson recorded in late 1962 and originally released on the Argo label.
The Jazztet was a jazz sextet, co-founded in 1959 by trumpeter Art Farmer and tenor saxophonist Benny Golson, always featuring the founders along with a trombonist and a piano-bass-drums rhythm section. In its first phase, the Jazztet lasted until 1962, and helped to launch the careers of pianist McCoy Tyner and trombonist Grachan Moncur III. Farmer and Golson revived the group in 1982 and it again toured extensively. Each generation of the group recorded six albums, which were released on a variety of labels.
"Whisper Not" is a composition by Benny Golson. It is in a minor key and contains a shout chorus. Golson's account of writing the piece is that "I wrote it in Boston at George Wein's Storyville club when I was with Dizzy Gillespie's big band. I wrote that tune in 20 minutes." Some sources indicate that the first recording was by Gillespie, while others indicate that trumpeter Lee Morgan was first.
Voices All is an album by Art Farmer and Benny Golson's group, The Jazztet recorded in Tokyo in 1983 and originally released on the Japanese Eastworld label.