James Williams

Pianist James Williams drew upon the gospel and R&B sounds that shaped his early years to develop a soulful and intensely personal style within contemporary jazz. Equally skilled as a soloist and accompanist, he earned recognition as a producer and educator. Born in Memphis on March 8, 1951, he started piano lessons at age 13. Admiring Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, and Ramsey Lewis, he served six years as organist at Memphis’ Eastern Star Baptist Church and later pursued music education at Memphis State University. After forming friendships with pianists Mulgrew Miller and Donald Brown, he shifted his attention to jazz, absorbing the styles of Hank Jones, Ahmad Jamal, and Memphis native Phineas Newborn. At age 22 he joined the faculty at Boston’s Berklee School of Music, where he also supported visiting artists such as Milt Jackson, Art Farmer, and Sonny Stitt in ensembles directed by Alan Dawson. During his five-year tenure at Berklee he honed his writing, and in 1977 he released his debut album as a leader, Flying Colors, on the Zim label. The following year he became a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, sharing the bandstand with a young Wynton Marsalis. That edition of the group recorded at least ten albums across the next four years. After departing the Jazz Messengers, Williams made New York City his base and worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Freddie Hubbard, and Kenny Burrell while leading his own ensembles, among them the vocal and instrumental group Intensive Care Unit, which featured saxophonist Bill Pierce, bassist Christian McBride, and drummer Tony Reedus. In 1987 he rejoined Blakey and bassist Ray Brown to form the Magical Trio, later versions of which included drummers Elvin Jones and Jeff “Tain” Watts. He established the production company Finas Sound and, alongside Miller and Brown, created the Contemporary Piano Ensemble to celebrate and sustain the music of Phineas Newborn. In 1999 William Paterson University appointed him director of jazz studies, a position he held until liver cancer was diagnosed; the illness led to his death on July 20, 2004.