Biography
Claude "Fiddler" Williams distinguished himself from other major jazz figures through an unusually extended lifespan and professional span that surpassed nearly all contemporaries while yielding his strongest accomplishments deep into advanced age. He first picked up guitar at ten, yet a performance by Joe Venuti near his Muskogee, OK, residence prompted him to switch to violin. Early local work around Oklahoma placed him alongside bassist Oscar Pettiford and additional players. His initial professional engagement arrived in 1927 upon joining Terrence Holder’s respected territory ensemble based in Oklahoma City. After the sidemen removed Holder for poor management and installed bassist Andy Kirk in his place, Williams remained with the group, soon known under various names including the Clouds of Joy, the Dark Clouds of Joy, 12 Clouds of Joy, and Original 11 Clouds of Joy. The band attained wide recognition, thanks in substantial measure to the performing and composing contributions of young pianist Mary Lou Williams. Williams appeared on the Kirk outfit’s earliest recordings yet had to depart around 1930 once health problems cut short a scheduled tour. He performed with Alphonse Trent’s band in 1932, George E. Lee’s in 1933, and Chick Stevens’s from 1934 to 1935, while also gigging in Chicago with Nat "King" Cole and his brother, bassist Eddie Cole. In 1936 Williams joined Count Basie on guitar, thereby becoming the first to record with that ensemble; Freddie Green took his chair the following year. Throughout the late ’30s and early ’40s he worked with the Four Shades of Rhythm across Chicago, Cleveland, and Flint, MI. Among the notable associates of the ’50s were pianist Jay McShann, saxophonist Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, and pianist Hank Jones. Williams returned to Kansas City in 1953 and spent most of the next twenty years leading his own ensembles without entering a studio. An early-’70s engagement with McShann produced Williams’s first recordings in almost three decades and launched his second career. During the ’70s and ’80s he toured regularly with McShann and appeared as featured soloist at jazz festivals. Additional appearances included a Paris production of the musical Black and Blue as well as a New York concert alongside pianist Roland Hanna and drummer Grady Tate. His profile climbed further in the ’90s through a segment on the television program CBS News Sunday Morning, performances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York, an appearance at President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration, international festival dates, and several highly acclaimed CDs. He also became the first inductee into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Well into his ninth decade Williams remained active and widely revered by musicians and listeners. The esteemed elder statesman of jazz died at age 96 in April 2004.
Albums