Fess Williams ''(né'' Stanley R. Williams; April 10, 1894 – December 17, 1975) was an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
musician
A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...
.
[''Biography Index, A Cumulative Index to Biographical Material in Books and Magazines, Volume 10: September 1973 — August 1976'', New York: ]H.W. Wilson Company
The H. W. Wilson Company, Inc. is a publisher and indexing company that was founded in 1898 and is located in The Bronx, New York. It provides print and digital content aimed at patrons of public school, college, and professional libraries in bot ...
, 1977
Early life
As a child Williams played several instruments.
He received his formal education from N. Clark-Smith at
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature.
The campus was d ...
.
By his late teens he had settled on clarinet, and soon afterwards formed the first of many bands he was to lead over the coming years.
Career
From 1919 to 1923, he led his own band before moving to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, and joining
Ollie Powers
Ollie is a given name and a nickname, often as a shortened form of Oliver, Olive, Olympia, Olga or Olivia. Variants include Olie, Oli, Oly and Olly.
People Given name
* Ollie Marie Adams (1925–1998), American gospel and R&B singer
* Ollie ...
. In 1923, he formed a new group in order to back the variety act Dave and Tressie and traveled to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
with them in 1924. There he led a trio in
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
, as well as a band that played at the Rosemont Ballroom.
In 1926, Williams formed the
Royal Flush Orchestra. The popular hot jazz outfit held residency at Harlem's
Savoy Ballroom
The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City.
Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harle ...
for most of its life,
and recorded on the Victor,
Vocalion
Vocalion Records is an American record company and label.
History
The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...
,
Gennett
Gennett (pronounced "jennett") was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s. Gennett produced some of the earliest recordings by Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bix Beiderbecke, and ...
,
Okeh
Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...
,
Brunswick,
Champion
A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...
, and
Harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
labels. Williams, Frank Marvin, and Perry Smith supplied vocals. The flamboyant Williams typically performed wearing a diamond-studded white suit and top hat.
During this time he recorded many of his own compositions such as "Friction", "Here 'Tis" and his highest selling record, "
Hot Town".
In 1928, Williams traveled to Chicago where he temporarily fronted
Dave Peyton's band at the
Regal Theatre. Calling the group
Fess Williams and His Joy Boys, he recorded two sides with them for Vocalion Records. The Royal Flush Orchestra continued to operate in his absence, and in 1929 he returned to New York to resume his duties.
The Royal Flush Orchestra recorded its last side in 1930. Williams remained active as a bandleader, but as the decade progressed his sound became outdated.
He fell out of favor with the public and eventually retired from performing full-time to sell real estate.
He continued to lead bands periodically during the 1940s and beyond.
Playing style
Williams played in a style reminiscent of
Ted Lewis, only less smoothly. He also specialized in the style of
Gas Pipe Clarinet which is when the instrument is used to produce all kinds of honks, growls, squeaks and effects that sounded like animal noises, laughter or other sounds you would not expect to hear from a clarinet. He was also a fine exponent of
slap tonguing
In music, the term ''slap tonguing'' refers to a musician playing a single-reed instrument such as a clarinet or a saxophone employing a technique to produce a popping sound along with the note.
The technique
The sound is created as a result of ...
, and utilized
circular breathing
Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. It is accomplished by breathing through the nose while simultaneously pushing air through the mouth using air stored ...
. This is shown off in his composition "Playing My Saxophone".
Town Hall concert
Williams came from—and fathered—a musical family; his brother Rudolph was a saxophonist and clarinetist, his sons
Rudy
Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to:
People Given name or nickname
*Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...
and Phil were both saxophonists, and his daughter Estella was a pianist and vocalist. He was also the uncle of the
double bassist
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Simila ...
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz upright bassist, pianist, composer, bandleader, and author. A major proponent of collective improvisation, he is considered to be one of the greatest jazz musicians and ...
who, in 1962, brought Williams back into the spotlight briefly as a guest for the
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
concert.
Collaborators and members of Williams' orchestras
*
Danny Barker
Daniel Moses Barker (January 13, 1909 – March 13, 1994) was an American jazz musician, vocalist, and author from New Orleans. He was a rhythm guitarist for Cab Calloway, Lucky Millinder and Benny Carter during the 1930s.
One of Barker's earl ...
(1909–1994), banjoist
*
Jabbo Smith
Jabbo Smith (born Cladys Smith; December 24, 1908 – January 16, 1991) was an American jazz musician, known for his virtuoso playing on the trumpet.
Biography
Smith was born in Pembroke, Georgia, United States. At the age of six he went into ...
(1908–1991), trumpeter
References
External links
Fess Williams at redhotjazz.comFess Williams at Solid, a jazz encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Fess
1894 births
1975 deaths
Swing saxophonists
American jazz clarinetists
American jazz saxophonists
American male saxophonists
Gennett Records artists
Okeh Records artists
Vocalion Records artists
Swing clarinetists
People from Danville, Kentucky
Jazz musicians from Kentucky
20th-century American saxophonists
20th-century American male musicians
American male jazz musicians