The Tony Williams Lifetime was a

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

group led by

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 Tony Williams.

Original line-up

The Tony Williams Lifetime was founded in 1969 as a

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quartet ...

with

John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra * Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter * John McLaug ...

on electric guitar, and Larry Young on organ. The band was possibly named for Williams' debut album as a bandleader, '' Life Time'', released on

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

in 1965. Its debut album was ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situatio ...

'', a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

released on

Polydor Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

PolyGram Records PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...

in 1969. It was largely rejected by jazz listeners at the time of its release because of its heavy rock influences, but it is now looked upon as a fusion classic.

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disbande ...

joined the group to provide bass and vocals on its second album, '' Turn It Over'', released in 1970. McLaughlin left the group and was replaced by

Ted Dunbar Earl Theodore Dunbar (January 17, 1937 – May 29, 1998) was an American jazz guitarist, composer, and educator. Career Born in Port Arthur, Texas, Dunbar trained as a pharmacist at Texas Southern University, but by the 1970s he only did pharma ...

on its 1971 album, '' Ego''. This album also featured

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...

on bass and cello, Warren Smith and

Don Alias Charles "Don" Alias (December 25, 1939 in New York City – March 28, 2006 in New York City) was an American jazz percussionist. Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums. He was, however, a capable drum kit performer: for e ...

on percussion, and Larry Young on organ. Lifetime gigs around this time featured

Juini Booth Arthur Edward Booth Jr. (February 12, 1948 – July 11, 2021) was an American jazz bassist. His professional name was Juini Booth, though his nickname has been spelled Jiunie, Junie, Joony, Jooney, Joonie, Juni, Juney, and Junius, over the cours ...

on bass. This lineup's performance in France on August 7, 1971 (venue unknown) was filmed in color and broadcast on the French television program Pop2. Following Larry Young's departure from the band sometime after July 1972, Tony Williams was the only original member remaining. Williams performed in August 1972 with a new short-lived trio called Life Time Experience, featuring bassist

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, film composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jaz ...

and violinist Jean Luc-Ponty. Their performance at the Festival de Chateauvallon, Chateauvallon, France, on August 23, 1972, was captured on film in black & white. The fourth and last Lifetime album for Polydor/PolyGram, 1973's ''The Old Bum's Rush'', was recorded in Boston and features entirely new personnel consisting of female vocalist and guitarist Linda/Laura 'Tequila' Logan (Williams' love interest at the time),

Webster Lewis Webster Samuel Lewis (September 1, 1943 – November 20, 2002) was an American jazz and disco composer, arranger and keyboardist. Career Lewis was born in 1943 in Baltimore, Maryland. At a young age, his family encouraged him to take up music. L ...

on organ & clavinet, David Horowitz on piano, vibes, and ARP synthesizer, and

Herb Bushler Herb Bushler (born March 7, 1939, New York City) is an American jazz bassist. He plays both double bass and electric bass. Bushler played piano and tuba in his youth before picking up double bass; he is classically trained in bass and has performe ...

on bass. Tony Williams' father Tillmon Williams makes a guest appearance on saxophone. Prior to recording, this lineup of the Lifetime, augmented by guitarist Bob Cacciola (or possibly Caccicola) performed material from the album on July 7, 1972, at the Newport Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, in New York. Marking yet another stylistic departure for the Lifetime and reinvention of the band's musical identity, the record is characterized by a predominantly sprightly and upbeat songwriting approach, electronic keyboard-dominated sound, and soul-jazz female vocals. Notably, keyboardist newcomer Webster Lewis turns in an organ performance which sounds remarkably like his predecessor Larry Young aka Khalid Yasin. Recorded by Williams under the dark cloud of knowing that Polydor would not be renewing his contract, the album received poor reviews and the group was effectively dissolved. In 1974, Williams formed a new Lifetime featuring ''Bum's Rush'' holdovers

on keyboards and Linda/Laura 'Tequila' Logan on vocals, along with former Cream/Lifetime bassist

and British guitarist

Allan Holdsworth Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017) was a British jazz fusion and progressive rock guitarist and composer. Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respe ...

. This lineup, sometimes referred to as Wildlife, recorded an album's worth of material at Europa Films Studios in Stockholm, Sweden in October 1974. This recording has never been officially released but circulates as a bootleg.

The New Lifetime

In spring 1975, Williams put together a quartet he called The New Tony Williams Lifetime featuring bassist Tony Newton, pianist

Alan Pasqua Alan Pasqua (born June 28, 1952) is an American rock and jazz pianist. He studied at Indiana University and the New England Conservatory of Music. His album ''Standards'' with drummer Peter Erskine was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2008. As a ...

, and guitarist

. Prior to settling on Tony Newton as the choice for bass player, a number of bassists auditioned for the spot including

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony "Jaco" Pastorius III (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987) was an American jazz bass guitar, bassist, composer and producer. He recorded albums as a solo artist and band leader and was a member of Weather Report from 1 ...

. This lineup recorded two albums for Columbia/

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

, '' Believe It'' in 1975 and '' Million Dollar Legs'' in 1976. These albums were reissued on one CD in 1992 as '' Lifetime: The Collection''. After recording ''Million Dollar Legs'', guitarist

departed and was replaced by Marlon Graves for the subsequent tour undertaken to support the album. In 1977, Williams parted ways with Graves, Pasqua, and Newton and formed another Lifetime lineup with entirely new personnel consisting of Mike Hoffmann (lead guitar), Gerry Mule′ (second guitar), Paul Potyen (keyboards), 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 ...

(bass). This lineup recorded demos for the Columbia label but had no official releases and played a small number of live gigs performing material from ''Ego'' and the two New Lifetime albums ''Believe It'' and ''Million Dollar Legs''. In July 1978 Williams toured Japan with

Ronnie Montrose Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie H ...

(guitar),

Brian Auger Brian Albert Gordon Auger (born 18 July 1939) is an English jazz rock and rock music keyboardist who specialises in the Hammond organ. Auger has worked with Rod Stewart, Tony Williams, Jimi Hendrix, John McLaughlin, Sonny Boy Williamson, an ...

(keyboards),

Mario Cipollina Cipollina is Italian for chives. ''Cipollina'' may also refer to: People * Adriano Cipollina, Belgian soccer player who entered free agency in 2018; see List of Belgian football transfers summer 2018 * Amara Cipollina, French gymnast and bronze ...

(bass) and special guest

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian Americans, Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was indu ...

also on drums for a series of concerts. They were billed as the Tony Williams All Stars. Later that year he released ''

The Joy of Flying ''The Joy of Flying'' is a jazz fusion album by Tony Williams. It was recorded at the end of The Tony Williams Lifetime years, and is considered his first solo album since 1966. It includes three duets, two with Mahavishnu Orchestra keyboardist ...

'', an eclectic solo album featuring a mix of styles and collaborations with

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

Cecil Taylor Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet. Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex ...

, Tom Scott,

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, pla ...

, and

Jan Hammer Jan Hammer () (born 17 April 1948) is a Czech-American musician, composer, and record producer. He first gained his most visible audience while playing keyboards with the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the early 1970s, as well as his film scores fo ...

. It also contains " Open Fire" recorded by the All Stars earlier that year. In 1979, Williams formed another all-new Lifetime featuring Tod Carver (guitar),

Bunny Brunel Bernard "Bunny" Brunel is a French-American bass guitarist who has played with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and Wayne Shorter. He is a founding member of the jazz fusion band CAB and is involved in musical instrument design and film and tel ...

(bass), Bruce Harris (keyboards), and Tom Grant (keyboards). The band's sound was a major departure from the former New Lifetime's classic fusion, with the high-energy shredding heard on ''Believe It'' and ''Million Dollar Legs'' largely abandoned in favor of a cerebral and groove-laden approach that emphasized mood and melody over technical virtuosity. As with the 1977 band the 1979-era Lifetime played a small number of live gigs and no studio recordings are known to exist. Toward the end of this period Williams pared-down the lineup to a trio and played some gigs with Tom Grant on keyboards and

on bass. In late May 1980, Williams and a new trio incarnation of the Lifetime featuring

Patrick O'Hearn Patrick John O'Hearn (born September 6, 1954) is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, and recording artist. Known primarily as a bass guitarist and keyboardist, O'Hearn came to prominence with Frank Zappa and co-founded the early 1980s ...

on bass (miscredited as Patrick O'Hara) and Tom Grant on keyboards recorded the little-known ''Play or Die'' album for the Swiss label PS Productions. Stylistically, the recording found Williams returning to high energy keyboard-dominated instrumental fusion reminiscent of the 1975 album '' On the Mountain'' by Elvin Jones, Jan Hammer and Gene Perla. At the time of his death Williams was writing and rehearsing with guitarist

Lyle Workman Lyle Dean Workman is an American guitarist, composer, session and touring musician, and music producer. His music has been widely distributed since his debut on the eponymous '' Bourgeois Tagg'' album in 1986, and is known for his work as compos ...

(who had appeared on Williams' 1996 solo release ''Wilderness'') to form yet another incarnation of the Lifetime.

Legacy and tributes

At the time of its release, ''Emergency!'' was notably influential on the then-emerging genre of jazz fusion. It was also one of several albums that the members of

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...

listened to regularly early in their career.

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

named the Tony Williams Lifetime as a specific musical inspiration in the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

of the Naked City album ''Radio''. British singer-songwriter

Andy Partridge Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock music, rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writi ...

XTC XTC were an English rock band formed in Swindon in 1972. Fronted by songwriters Andy Partridge (guitars, vocals) and Colin Moulding (bass, vocals), the band gained popularity during the rise of punk and new wave in the 1970s, later playing in ...

calls ''Emergency!'' his all-time favourite album, and says that hearing it in 1969, at the insistence of a friend, was a vital moment in expanding his musical tastes beyond conventional guitar pop and rock. Since the death of Williams in 1997,

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie, ...

and

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in the ...

formed

Trio Beyond Trio Beyond is an avant-jazz, avant-jazz fusion organ trio, formed in 2003. The trio was formed in 2003 by drummer Jack DeJohnette as a way of paying tribute to the importance of fellow drummer Tony Williams (drummer), Tony Williams. Guitarist John ...

with

Larry Goldings Lawrence Sam “Larry” Goldings (born August 28, 1968) is an American jazz keyboardist and composer. His music has explored elements of funk, blues, and fusion. Goldings has a comedic alter ego known as Hans Groiner. Life and career Gold ...

in honour of The Tony Williams Lifetime. They released one album, '' Saudades'' (2006), on the German label ECM. In 2006, former Lifetime members Allan Holdsworth and Alan Pasqua toured with drummer

Chad Wackerman Chad Wackerman (born March 25, 1960) is an American jazz, jazz fusion and rock drummer, who has played with Frank Zappa and Allan Holdsworth. He has worked as a band member, session musician, sideman, and leader of his own ensembles. He is th ...

and bassist

Jimmy Haslip James Robert Haslip (born December 31, 1951) is an American bass guitarist who was a founding member of the jazz fusion group the Yellowjackets, which he left in 2012. He was also an early user of the five-string electric bass. Early life and ...

performing a set comprising original as well as Lifetime material. ''Live at Yoshi's'', a DVD from the U.S. leg of the tour, was released in 2007 and followed by the 2-CD set ''

Blues for Tony ''Blues for Tony'' is a live album by guitarist Allan Holdsworth, keyboardist Alan Pasqua, bassist Jimmy Haslip, and drummer Chad Wackerman. It was recorded in 2007, and was released as a double CD set by Moonjune Records in 2009. The album, which ...

'' in 2009. In December 2008, guitarist

Vernon Reid Vernon Alphonsus Reid (born 22 August 1958) is an English-born American guitarist and songwriter. Reid is the founder and primary songwriter of the rock band Living Colour, Reid was named No. 66 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's 2003 list of the ...

, organist

John Medeski Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...

, drummer Cindy Blackman, and former Lifetime member

played a week of shows in Japan as the Tony Williams Lifetime Tribute Band, playing a set of 1969/70 Lifetime material. This was recorded in high-definition and shown on Japanese TV. Cindy Blackman released a Lifetime tribute album titled '' Another Lifetime'' in 2010. The Lifetime Tribute Band featuring Jack Bruce reformed in February 2011 to play a further ten shows in high-profile jazz clubs in North America. Unusually the dates have early & evening shows, something most rock musicians stopped doing at the beginning of the 1970s. Reaction to the 2011 U.S. shows was so positive that the band renamed themselves Spectrum Road, after a track on 1969's first Lifetime album. The group released a self-titled album in 2012 on the U.S. jazz record label

Palmetto Records Palmetto Records is an independent American jazz record company and label in New York City founded in 1990 by guitarist Matt Balitsaris. Issues began with those by Balitsaris, then Greg Hatza in 1993. Since then, its catalog has included albums ...

Discography

*1969: ''

'' *1970: '' Turn It Over'' *1971: '' Ego'' *1972: ''The Old Bum's Rush'' *1974: ''Wildlife'' a.k.a. ''The Stockholm Sessions'' (unreleased) *1975: '' Believe It'' *1976: '' Million Dollar Legs'' *1976: '' Live at The Village Gate'' (unofficial) *1978: ''

'' *1980: ''Play or Die'' *1992: '' Lifetime: The Collection'' (compilation) *1997: ''Spectrum: The Anthology'' (compilation)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams Lifetime, The Tony Jazz fusion ensembles American jazz ensembles 1969 establishments in the United States 1976 disestablishments in the United States Verve Records artists Columbia Records artists Musical groups established in 1969 Musical groups disestablished in 1976

Original line-up

The New Lifetime

Legacy and tributes

Discography

See also

References