Jeffrey Lawrence Williams (born July 6, 1950) is 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 ...

drummer, composer, and educator.

Early life

Williams was born in

Mount Vernon, Ohio Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. It is located northeast of Columbus. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County. History The community was platted in 1805, and named after Mo ...

, on July 6, 1950. He grew up in

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students. The town is the birthplace of the ...

. His mother was a singer in the 1960s. Williams began playing the drums, self-taught, at the age of seven and played professionally from his mid-teens. From 1968, "he studied arranging and composition at the

Berklee School of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

Later life and career

Williams played for a short time with various musicians in New York in 1971, joined pianist

Marc Copland Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

's band, and played for the first time with saxophonist

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jazz ...

in 1972. He continued to work with Konitz on and off into the 2000s. Williams played with saxophonist

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

at the end of 1972 and into early 1973, before joining the band Lookout Farm, led by

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received a N ...

and

Richie Beirach Richard Alan Beirach (born 23 May 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Beirach was born in New York City. He initially studied both classical music and jazz. While still attending high school, he took lessons from pianist L ...

. Williams was also the drummer in pianist Beirach's trio for recordings in the mid-1970s. Williams was part of the band Interplay, formed by bassist Anthony Cox and pianist

Peter Madsen Peter Langkjær Madsen (; born 12 January 1971) is a Danish convicted murderer and former entrepreneur. In April 2018, he was convicted of the 2017 murder of Swedish journalist Kim Wall on board his submarine, '' UC3 Nautilus'', and sentenced ...

in the mid-1980s. This trio performed with Getz in 1987. Some of Williams's compositions were played on the albums ''Coalescence'' and ''Jazzblues''. The former title was also the name of Williams's group from 1991 to 1996. The following year, "he formed the trio Circadian Rhythms with

Tony Malaby Tony Malaby (born January 12, 1964) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Malaby was born in Tucson, Arizona. He moved to New York City in 1995 and played with several notable jazz groups, including Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra, ...

and

Michael Formanek Michael Formanek (born May 7, 1958) is an American jazz bassist born in San Francisco, California, United States, and associated with the jazz scene in New York City, New York. Career In the 1980s, Formanek worked as a sideman with Freddie Hubb ...

. He also formed another trio, Left-handed Compliment, with the alto saxophonist John O'Gallagher and Madsen (on Hammond organ)". Williams has taught at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

and the

Birmingham Conservatoire The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is a music school, drama school and concert venue in Birmingham, England. It provides professional education in music, acting, and related disciplines up to postgraduate level. It is a centre for scholarly res ...

. He is married to the American author

Lionel Shriver Lionel Shriver (born Margaret Ann Shriver; May 18, 1957) is an American author and journalist who lives in the United Kingdom. Her novel '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'' won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005. Early life and education Shriver ...

Discography

As leader or co-leader

* ''

Coalescence Coalescence may refer to: * Coalescence (chemistry), the process by which two or more separate masses of miscible substances seem to "pull" each other together should they make the slightest contact * Coalescence (computer science), the merging of ...

'' (

SteepleChase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

, recorded in 1991, released in 1994) * ''

Another Time Another Time may refer to: * ''Another Time'' (book), a 1940 book of poems by W. H. Auden * ''Another Time'' (Jeff Williams album), 2011 * ''Another Time'' (Earth, Wind & Fire album), 1974 See also * " Another Time (Andrew's Song)", a 2014 so ...

'' (

Whirlwind A whirlwind is a weather phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow (current) gradients. Whirlwinds occur all over the world and ...

, 2011) * '' The Listener'' (Whirlwind, 2013) * ''Outlier'' (Whirlwind, 2016) * ''Lifelike'' (Whirlwind, 2018) * ''Bloom'' (Whirlwind, 2019)

As sideman

With

Richard Beirach Richard Alan Beirach (born 23 May 1947) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Beirach was born in New York City. He initially studied both classical music and jazz. While still attending high school, he took lessons from pianist L ...

* ''

Eon Eon or Eons may refer to: Time * Aeon, an indefinite long period of time * Eon (geology), a division of the geologic time scale Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Eon, in the 2007 film ''Ben 10: Race Against Time'' * Eon, in the ...

'' ( ECM, 1974) * ''Methuselah'' (Trio, 1975) With

Paul Bley Paul Bley, CM (November 10, 1932 – January 3, 2016) was a jazz pianist known for his contributions to the free jazz movement of the 1960s as well as his innovations and influence on trio playing and his early live performance on the Moog and ...

* '' Paul Plays Carla'' (

, 1992) With

Ethan Iverson Ethan Iverson (born February 11, 1973) is a pianist, composer, and critic best known for his work in the avant-garde jazz trio The Bad Plus with bassist Reid Anderson and drummer Dave King. Biography Iverson was born in Menomonie, Wisconsin. ...

* ''

Live at Smalls ''Live at Smalls'' is an album by pianist Harold Mabern. It was released by Smalls Live in 2013. Recording and music The musicians are Harold Mabern (piano), John Webber (bass), and Joe Farnsworth (drums).Tamarkin, Jeff (May 9, 2013"'Live at Smal ...

'' (

Fresh Sound Fresh Sound, or Fresh Sound New Talent, is a jazz record label established in Barcelona, Spain, by Jordi Pujol. The label was initially founded as a reissue label. The catalog includes work by musicians both major and minor that was recorded be ...

, 2000) With

* ''

Lunasea ''Lunasea'' is an album by saxophonist Lee Konitz and pianist Peggy Stern which was recorded in 1992 and released on the Italian Soul Note label.Peggy Stern Margaret "Peggy" Stern (born September 22, 1948, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American jazz pianist and synthesizer player. Career Stern studied piano at the Eastman School of Music, receiving her bachelor's degree in 1968, then attended th ...

* '' Dig-It'' (SteepleChase, 1999) with Ted Brown * '' First Meeting: Live in London, Volume 1'' (Whirlwind, 2014) With

* '' Lookout Farm'' (ECM, 1973) * ''

Drum Ode ''Drum Ode'' is an album by American jazz saxophonist Dave Liebman recorded in 1974 and released on the ECM label.

'' (ECM, 1974) * ''

Sweet Hands ''Sweet Hands'' is an album by saxophonist David Liebman which was recorded in California in 1975 and released on the Horizon label.Horizon The horizon is the apparent line that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This line divides all viewing directions based on whether i ...

, 1975)

References

External links

Official site

Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2009
Retrieved January 8, 2011 * Retrieved January 8, 2011 {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jeff 1950 births Living people Jazz musicians from Ohio Academics of the Royal Academy of Music American expatriates in the United Kingdom American jazz drummers Whirlwind Recordings artists