Tony Williams belongs to a select category of jazz percussionists. As a drummer he made his mark in terms of technique, sound, and style, establishing himself as one of the jazz greats, alongside players such as Art BLAKEY and Elvin JONES. His furious yet sensitive brand of creative accompaniment is studied and emulated by young drummers around the world.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, on December 12, 1945, Williams’ family moved to the Boston area while he was still very young. He was given his first drum kit at age eight and later studied with renowned jazz drummer Alan Dawson. He soon found employment with Sam Rivers and Jackie McLean, and this led to an invitation to join the Miles DAVIS Quintet when he was still only 17.
The original line-up consisted of Miles Davis on trumpet, Williams on drums, Herbie HANCOCK on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and George Coleman on tenor sax. After Coleman had been replaced by the more adventurous Wayne SHORTER, the young, creative band exploded with new sounds and ideas. The rhythm section—Carter, Hancock, and Williams—is widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time.
The musical concept changed from a straight hard bop feel to a rhythmically looser and more harmonically complex sound. Williams, Hancock, Carter, and Shorter were greatly influenced by the avant-garde musical ideas of the time, but they filtered these new sounds and fitted them neatly into the mold of Miles Davis’s music. This led to the development of a new style in jazz, and the group made their improvisation concepts more accessible to the general listening public. The quintet played originals but also found ways to refresh the old jazz standards.
Williams recorded several landmark albums with the Davis group, including Miles Smiles and In a Silent Way. He also performed on a number of historic Blue Note recordings by Eric DOLPHY, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Jackie McLean.
In 1968, Williams left the Miles Davis group to pursue a career as a bandleader—and once again his new direction was groundbreaking. At this time, the new genre of jazz rock was yet unnamed, and his new group—Tony Williams’ Lifetime—proved to be extremely influential in defining this new style.
Through the 1970s and early 1980s, Williams recorded jazz rock albums, performed on the recordings of others, and toured with a reformed version of the Miles Davis group called V.S.O.P. The new group included Carter, Hancock, and Williams, with trumpeter Freddie HUBBARD standing in for Davis.
In 1985 Tony Williams signed a deal with Blue Note, and released a series of successful recordings, including Foreign Intrigue, and Believe It! His last release as a bandleader, Wilderness, came out just before his death.
Williams’ drumming style was marked by his loose yet unwavering time feel, his creative use of the ride cymbal, and a penchant for playing the hi-hat on all four beats of the bar, or even constant eighth notes rather than the traditional second and fourth beats. His technique with sticks and brushes was both light and dramatic, and he amazed listeners with his ability to play at astonishingly fast tempos. He was able to do much more than keep time. He extended the possibilities of jazz drumming by freeing himself to leave spaces, imply the beat, and produce counter-rhythms and polyrhythms.
Tony Williams died on February 23, 1997, following a heart attack after minor surgery. He was only 51. His forward thinking approach embodied the spirit of jazz and was evident throughout his career. His original style and openness to new ideas has had a continuing influence on jazz percussion.
Gregg Juke
SEE ALSO:
FREE JAZZ; HARD BOP; JAZZ; JAZZ ROCK; JONES, ELVIN; MCLAUGHLIN, JOHN.
Taylor, Arthur, ed. Notes and Tones:
Musician-to-Musician Interviews
(London: Quartet, 1983).
Emergency!; Foreign Intrigue; lifetime, Wilderness;
Miles Davis: E.S.P; Miles Smiles; In a Silent Way;
Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage.