Lawrence Lowell Williams is an American record producer, composer, arranger, and

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where a ...

. He is proficient on the keyboards, saxophone, flute, and clarinet. Williams began his musical career in the 1970s, and has since established himself as a prominent figure in the music industry. He regularly toured and recorded with

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and R ...

for over 3 decades and also was a musician on Michael Jackson's albums ''Off The Wall'', ''Thriller'', and ''Bad''.

Early life

Williams was born in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

and grew up in Overland Park. He began learning the clarinet at age 8, under the influence of his father who played the saxophone. Williams went on to study music at New Mexico State University and later transferred to Indiana University School of Music in 1969. While at university, Williams began playing with visiting orchestras, including those of

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

, and

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

. While studying at Indiana University, he met Jerry Hey and Kim Hutchcroft, who would later become members of jazz-fusion band Seawind. He decided to leave university and focus to work full-time with Seawind in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

. A notable part of the band's sound was the "Seawind Horns" (Williams with trumpeter Jerry Hey, and sax and flute player Kim Hutchcroft). Seawind caught the attention of drummer-producer

Harvey Mason Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. Mason, who attended Berklee in the 1960s, received an Honorary Doctorate at Berklee's 2015 Commencement Ceremony ...

. He encouraged the group to move to Los Angeles where they quickly established a regular gig at the club The Baked Potato.

Career

In LA, the band was noticed by producer and arranger Quincy Jones. This led to Williams and the other members of the Seawind Horns becoming studio musicians for Jones himself and several Jones’ productions such as George Benson, Brothers Johnson and Michael Jackson. He has further recorded with

Christopher Cross Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas. He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's ...

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a showbusiness family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on rad ...

Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, United States. At the age of eight he started play ...

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recor ...

, Mezzoforte, Michael Bolton, Michael Franks,

Minnie Riperton Minnie Julia Riperton Rudolph (November 8, 1947 – July 12, 1979) was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You" and her four octave D3 to F7 coloratura soprano range. She is also widely known for her use o ...

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the ...

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

Pat Benatar Patricia Mae Giraldo (''née'' Andrzejewski, formerly Benatar; born January 10, 1953), known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American rock singer and songwriter. In the United States, she has had two multi-platinum albums, five platinum alb ...

Patrice Rushen Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director. Her 1982 single " Forget Me Nots" received a Grammy Awa ...

, Paul Young,

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Randy Crawford Veronica "Randy" Crawford (born February 18, 1952) is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has been more successful in Europe than in the United States, where she has not entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a solo artist. However, she has ap ...

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, Ray Parker Jr.,

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's self-titled debut album went triple-platinum in 1987, and his first single, " D ...

, Rick Astley,

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles " The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", " Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", " W ...

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

Simply Red Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since the ...

and Stevie Nicks among others. Williams played tenor saxophone, flute and keyboards on Michael Jackson's album ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'' and is featured on keyboards and sax synth solo on “Speed Demon” from the album '' Bad ''.

Discography

* 1970 — Crow By Crow -

Crow A crow is a bird of the genus ''Corvus'', or more broadly a synonym for all of ''Corvus''. Crows are generally black in colour. The word "crow" is used as part of the common name of many species. The related term " raven" is not pinned scientifica ...

* 1970 — Same Old Story - Blodwyn Pig * 1976 — Seawind - Seawind * 1976 — Earthmover -

* 1976 — Like A Seabird in the Wind - Olomana * 1977 —

Finger Paintings ''Finger Paintings'' is the third studio album by Earl Klugh released in 1977. Track listing # "Dr. Macumba" (Earl Klugh) – 4:27 # " Long Ago and Far Away" (James Taylor) – 5:37 # "Cabo Frio" (Klugh) – 3:32 # "Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow" ...

Earl Klugh Earl Klugh ( ; born September 16, 1953) is an American acoustic guitarist and composer. He has won one Grammy award and thirteen nominations. Klugh was awarded the “1977” Best Recording Award For Performance and Sound” for his album “Fing ...

* 1977 — Agora - Paulinho Da Costa * 1977 — Funk in a Mason Jar - Harvey Mason * 1977 — Window a Child - Seawind * 1978 — Blam! -

Brothers Johnson The Brothers Johnson were an American funk and R&B band consisting of American musicians and brothers George ("Lightnin' Licks") and Louis E. Johnson ("Thunder Thumbs"). They achieved their greatest success from the mid-1970s to early 1980s, ...

* 1978 — Single - Bill Champlin * 1978 — Street Player - Rufus & Chaka Khan * 1978 — Patrice -

* 1978 — Waiting for the rain - James Vincent * 1978 — Heartbreaker -

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

* 1978 — All Fly Home -

* 1978 — Other Peoples Rooms - Mark Almond * 1978 — Kenji Shock - Kenji Omura * 1978 — Songbird - Barbra Streisand * 1978 — Rudy Copeland - Rudy Copeland * 1979 — Take It Home - B.B King * 1979 — Minnie - Minnie Riperton * 1979 — Future Now - Pleasure * 1979 — Realce - Gilberto Gil * 1979 — Poses - Alain Chamfort * 1979 — Feel The Night - Lee Ritnour * 1979 — Masterjam - Rufus & Chaka * 1979 — Follow The Rainbow - George Duke * 1979 — If The Shoe Fits - Ronnie Dyson * 1979 — A Brazilian Love Affair - George Duke * 1979 — The Third Album - Paul Jabara * 1979 — Levitation - The Floaters * 1979 — Realce - Gilberto Gil * 1979 — The World Within - Stix Hooper * 1979 — Branda Russell - Brenda Russell * 1979 — The Glow - Bonnie Raitt * 1979 — Runnin' To Your Love - Eddie Henderson * 1979 — Double or Nothing - Lani Hall * 1979 — J Michael Reed - J Michael Reed * 1979 — You've Got It - Baby'O * 1979 — Off The Wall - Michael Jackson * 1980 — Bi Coastal - Peter Allen * 1980 — Give Me The Night - George Benson * 1980 — Light Up The Night - The brothers Johnson * 1980 — Candle - Heatwave * 1980 — My Babe - Roy Buchanan * 1980 — Special Things - Pleasure * 1980 — Lady T - Teena Marie * 1980 — Hold On - High Inergy * 1980 — Faces - Earth Wind & Fire * 1980 —

21 At 33 ''21 at 33'' is the fourteenth studio album by English musician Elton John and his 21st album in total, made when John was 33 years old, hence the title. ''21 at 33'' was recorded at Super Bear Studios, Nice, France, in September 1979 and at ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

* 1980 — Jeff Kutash And The Dancin' Machine - Jeff Kutash And The Dancin' Machine * 1980 — Supercharged - Tavares * 1980 — Better Days - The Blackbyrds * 1980 — Magnificent Madness -* John Klemmer * 1980 — Shine - Average White Band * 1980 — Larsen Feiten Band - Larsen Feiten Band * 1980 — John & Arthur Simms - John & Arthur Simms * 1980 — Tony Comer & Crosswinds - Tony Comer & Crosswinds * 1981 — Labor Of Love - Detroit Spinners * 1981 — Wall To Wall - Rene & Angela * 1981 — Precious Time - Pat Benatar * 1981 — By All Means - Alphonse Mouzon * 1981 — Breakin' Away - Al Jarreau * 1981 — Yellowjackets - Yellowjackets * 1981 — Camouflage - Rufus & Chaka Khan * 1981 — What Cha Gonna Do For Me - Chaka Khan * 1981 — Galaxian - Jeff Lorber Fusion * 1981 — The Dude - Quincy Jones * 1981 — All This Way - Patty Brard * 1981 — I Like Your Style - Jermaine Jackson * 1981 — Straight Ahead - Sheree Brown * 1981 — Looking Forward - Bob Bailey * 1982 — Dream On - George Duke * 1982 — Distant Lover - Alphonse Mouzon * 1982 — The Music - Sheree Brown * 1982 — Retro Active - Robert Kraft * 1982 — Dream On - George Duke * 1982 — Rit/2 - Lee Ritenour * 1982 — The Dukes Bugatti & Musker - The Dukes * 1982 — Incognito - Spyro Gyra * 1982 — Wild Things Run Fast - Joni Mitchell * 1982 — Thriller - Michael Jackson * 1982 — Lift Me Up - Herbie Hancock * 1982 — Hey Ricky - Melissa Manchester * 1982 — Bobbi Walker - Bobbi Walker * 1982 — Shangri-La - Toshiyuki Honda * 1982 — Step Into The Funk - Alphonse Mouzon * 1983 — Bet Cha Say That To All The Girls - Sister Sledge * 1983 — Emergency - Melissa Manchester * 1983 — Bodies And Souls - The Manhattan Transfer * 1983 — Trouble In Paradise - Randy Newman * 1983 — Continuation - Philip Bailey * 1983 — Attitude - Stevie Woods * 1983 — Girl At Her Volcano - Rickie Lee Jones * 1983 — Guardian Of The Light - George Duke * 1983 — It's All Your Night - James Ingram * 1983 — Friedns - Larry Carlton * 1983 — The Front - The Front * 1983 — Old Fool Back on Earth - Michel Colombier * 1983 — Kleiton & Kledir - Kleiton & Kledir * 1983 — Hurt Me Baby me write Bad Checks - Rick Dees * 1984 — Give My Regards To Broad Street - Paul McCartney * 1984 — Half The Effort Twice The Effect - Peter Cupples * 1984 — Banded Together - Lee Ritenour * 1984 — I've Got The Cure - Stephanie Mills * 1984 — So Romantic - Evelynb King * 1984 — A Private Heaven - Sheena Easton * 1984 — Human Racing - Nik Kershaw * 1984 — Don't Look Any Further - Dennis Edwards * 1984 — Self Control - Laura Branigan * 1984 — Patti Austin - Patti Austin * 1984 — Love Talk - Kimiko Kasai * 1984 — Mancha De Dende Nao Sai - Moraes Moreira * 1984 — Call of the Wild - Vicot Feldman's Generation Band * 1985 — Durrell Coleman - Durell Coleman * 1985 — Mahvelous! - Billy Crystal * 1985 — In London - Al Jarreau * 1985 — Warming Up to the Ice Age - John Hiatt * 1985 — Hold Me - Laura Branigan * 1985 — Maisha - Sadao Watanabe * 1985 — Mathematics - Melissa Manchester * 1985 — The Heart of the Matter - Kenny Rogers * 1985 — Soul Kiss - Olivia Newton-John * 1985 — Unguarded - Amy Grant * 1985 — Eaten Alive -

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

* 1985 — Magic - Four Tops * 1985 —

Medals A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

- Russ Taff * 1985 —

Nightshift A night shift is either a group of workers night working, or the period in which they work. Night Shift, Nightshift, or The Night Shift may also refer to: Film, TV, and video games Film * Night Shift (1944 film), ''Night Shift'' (1944 film), a 1 ...

- Commodores * 1985 — West of Broadway - Albert Fortis * 1985 — Silk & Steel - 5 Star * 1986 —

Earth Run ''Earth Run'' is the fifteenth studio album by jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour, released in April 1986 through GRP Records.Lee Ritenour Lee Mack Ritenour ( ; born January 11, 1952) is an American jazz guitarist who has been active since the late 1960s. Biography Ritenour was born on January 11, 1952, in Los Angeles, California, United States. At the age of eight he started play ...

* 1986 —

Headed For The Future ''Headed for the Future'' is the seventeenth studio album released by Neil Diamond in March 1986 on Columbia Records. The album went to number 20 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. ''Headed for the Future'' has also been certified Gold in the US by t ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

* 1986 —

Fahrenheit The Fahrenheit scale () is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accounts of how he originally defined h ...

Toto Toto may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Pets * Toto (Oz), Toto (''Oz''), a dog in the novel and film ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' * Toto, in Japanese ''The Cat Returns#Plot, The Cat Returns'' Characters of agency * a ...

* 1986 — Without Walls - Michael Sembello * 1986 —

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

* 1986 — August - Eric Clapton * 1986 — Rod Stewart - Rod Stewart * 1987 — Everlasting - Natalie Cole * 1987 — Richard Marx - Richard Marx * 1987 — Love Changes - Kashif * 1987 — No Protection - Starship * 1987 — Bad - Michael Jackson * 1987 — Hai Hai - Roger Hodgson * 1987 — Discovery - Larry Carlton * 1987 — Watch Out! - Patrice Rushen * 1987 — Yauretê - Milton Nascimento * 1987 — What If - What If * 1987 — Say It Again - Jermaine Stewart * 1987 — This Time - Al Jarreau * 1987 — After Dark - Ray Parker Jr * 1987 — Portrait - Lee Ritenour * 1987 — Reservation For Two - Dionne * 1988 — What Up Dog ? - Was (Not Wass) * 1988 — Other Roads - Boz Scaggs * 1988 — Back Of My Mind - Christopher Cross * 1988 — Brian Wilson - Brian Wilson * 1988 — The Lover in Me - Sheena Easton * 1988 — In the City of Angels - Jon Anderson * 1988 — Festival - Lee Ritenour * 1988 — Till i loved You - Barbra Streisand * 1988 — Desiree - Desiree Coleman * 1988 — Nothing But the Truth - Ruben Blades * 1988 — Rock Solid - Commodores * 1988 — Life in the Modern World - The Crusaders * 1988 — Night After Night - George duke * 1989 — Back on the Block - Quincy Jones * 1989 — Repeat Offender - Richard Max * 1989 — Larger Than Life - Jody Watley * 1989 — Cries And Whispers - Robert Hart * 1989 — A New Flame - Simply Red * 1989 — Spellhound - Joe Sample * 1990 — Everything but the Girl - The Language of Life * 1990 — Other Voices - Paul Young * 1990 — Get Here - Brenda Russell * 1990 — Ashas to Ashes - Joe Sample * 1990 — A View 3rd Street - Jude Cole * 1990 — Summer Nights - Marlene and Seawind * 1991 — Better Love - Mezzoforte * 1991 — Free - Rick Astley * 1991 — Future Street - Pages * 1991 — Carry On - Patti Austin * 1991 — Fortissimo - Mezzoforte * 1991 — Prince of Darkness - Big Daddy * 1992 — Rockinghorse - Alannah Myles * 1992 — Vivienne McKone - Vivienne McKone * 1992 — Three Wishes - Spyro Gyra * 1992 — Lynch Mob - Lynch Lob * 1992 — Go West - Indian Summer * 1992 — Snapshot - George Duke * 1993 — No Strings - Sheena Easton * 1993 — Jungle Fever - Neil Larsen * 1993 — Keep On - 10 Degrees * 1993 — Soul Talkin' - Brenda Russell * 1993 — Memphis Bound - Bryan Lee * 1994 — Baby I Love Your Way - Big Mountain * 1994 — It's Lewis - Lewis Cowdrey * 1994 — Braille Blues - Bryan Lee * 1995 — Illusions - George Duke * 1995 — Larry & Lee - Lee Ritenour & Larry Carlton * 1995 — Q's Jook Joint - Quincy Jones * 1995 — Remember - Seawind * 1995 — Are My Ears On Wrong - Jakko * 1995 — In My Lifetime - Neil Diamond * 1997 — Down to Earth - Nichelle Nichols * 1997 — Being There - Wilco * 1997 — Shapes And Patterns - Swing Out Sister * 1997 — Eros - Eros Ramazzotti * 1997 — Only You - Pauline Wilson * 1998 — This Is Jazz - George Duke * 1998 — This Is Love - Lee Ritneour * 1998 — A Place in the Sun - Lit * 1999 — Snowbound - Fourplay * 1999 — A New Standard - Steve Tyrell * 1999 — Roulette Girl - Mary Prankster * 2000 — My Kind of Christmas - Christina Aguilera * 2000 — Somebody Loves You - Bob & Pauline Wilson * 2000 — Brian Wilson - Brian Wilson * 2000 — Fingerprints - Larry Carlton * 2001 — Bad For Me - Dee Dee Bridgewater * 2001 — Collection - Tracy Chapman * 2001 — Tribute - Pauline Wilson * 2001 — On The Way To Love - Patti Austin * 2001 — Deep into It - Larry Carlton * 2002 — Be Not Nobody - Vanessa Carlton * 2002 — I'm Right There - Samantha Mumba * 2002 — All I Got - Al Jarreau * 2004 — The Dana Owens Album - Queen Latifah * 2004 — Accentuate The Positive - Al Jarreau * 2005 — Real Illusions — Reflections - Steve Vai * 2005 — PCD - The Pussycat Dolls * 2005 — World of Brazil - Lee Ritenour * 2008 — Dukey Treat - George Duke * 2009 — Reunion - Seawind

References

External links

* * * Interviews
Interview with Larry Williams on Yuzu Melodies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Larry Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Jazz fusion arrangers American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Seawind (band) members Lyle Lovett and His Large Band members