John Thomas Williams (January 28, 1929 – December 2018) 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 ...

pianist.

Early life

Williams was born in Windsor, Vermont on January 28, 1929. He began playing piano aged eight and joined a local ensemble at twelve; he also learned organ, and performed in church as a teenager. In March 1945, he embarked on a six-month tour as a member of

Mal Hallett Mal Hallett (born 1893, Roxbury, Massachusetts – died November 20, 1952, Boston) was an American jazz violinist and bandleader. Biography Hallett was a graduate of the Boston Conservatory of Music. He played in France during World War I as a m ...

's band, having not yet completed high school.

Later life and career

Late in the 1940s, he played with

Johnny Bothwell Johnny Bothwell (May 23, 1919 – September 12, 1995) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and bandleader. Career Bothwell played in Chicago in 1940 and then moved to New York City, playing with Woody Herman (1943) and Sonny Dunham (1944&nda ...

and

Teddy Kotick Teddy Kotick (born Theodore John Kotick; June 4, 1928 – April 17, 1986) was an American jazz bassist, who appeared as a sideman with many of the leading figures of the 1940s and 1950s, including Charlie Parker, Buddy Rich, Artie Shaw, Horace Sil ...

, and at the end of the decade he relocated from Vermont to New York City. After playing a gig with

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

at the end of 1950, he served in the military during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

(1951–53), playing low brass in Army bands. After the war, he returned to New York, where he enrolled at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

, formed his own trio ensemble, and recorded widely as a sideman. His associations around this time included Charlie Barnet,

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 ...

Sal Salvador Sal Salvador (November 21, 1925 – September 22, 1999) was an American bebop jazz guitarist and a prominent music educator. He was born in Monson, Massachusetts, United States, and began his professional career in New York City. He eventually mo ...

, Charlie Mariano,

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered for the 1966 soul jazz single "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy", whi ...

Jimmy Cleveland James Milton Cleveland (May 3, 1926 – August 23, 2008) was an American jazz trombonist born in Wartrace, Tennessee.

, Phil Woods, Al Cohn,

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

Jimmy Raney James Elbert Raney (August 20, 1927 – May 10, 1995) was an American jazz guitarist, born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, known for his work from 1951 to 1952 and then from 1953 to 1954 with the Red Norvo trio (replacing Tal Farlow) and ...

, and Lon Norman. Williams also recorded two albums as a leader for

EmArcy Records EmArcy Records is a jazz record label founded in 1954 by the American Mercury Records. The name is a phonetic spelling of "MRC", the initials for Mercury Record Company. During the 1950s and 1960s, musicians such as Max Roach, Clifford Brown ...

in the mid-1950s. His eponymous debut was a trio album, with bassist Bill Anthony and drummer

Frank Isola Frank Isola (February 20, 1925 – December 12, 2004 in Detroit, Michigan) was an American jazz drummer. Isola was born and raised in Detroit and was heavily influenced by Gene Krupa. He played in the U.S. military during World War II (1943–45 ...

, and was recorded in 1954. The follow-up was also a trio record, with various other musicians, and was made in 1955. The two were released on one CD by Fresh Sound. Disillusioned with the jazz life in New York, Williams decided to move to Florida, where he played for a time as a pianist in

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...

, then receded from performance. He worked as a city commissioner from 1971 to 1991 and held a position in a banking firm while still occasionally playing locally. He also was a regular performer at an annual music festival in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

, where he played with Bob Brookmeyer, Buddy DeFranco, Terry Gibbs, and Scott Hamilton. In 1987, he appeared with

Spike Robinson Henry Bertholf "Spike" Robinson (January 16, 1930 – October 29, 2001) was a jazz tenor saxophonist. He began playing at age twelve, recording on several labels, including Discovery, Hep and Concord. However, he sought an engineering degree and ...

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

. This appearance, plus a piece published in ''Jazz Journal International'' in 1994, "helped bring Williams back to the attention of the jazz world", and he recorded two albums in the 1990s. He died on December 14 or 15, 2018.

Playing style

Williams was "strongly influenced by

Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern ...

and Horace Silver".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described him as "Inventive, forceful, with a commanding sense of swing and, importantly, a workmanlike view of the true role of the pianist in both mainstream and bop settings".

Discography

As leader

As sideman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, John 1929 births 2018 deaths American jazz pianists American male pianists Musicians from Vermont 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians