Tony Williams (drummer)

Tony Williams (drummer)
Anthony Tillmon Williams (December 12, 1945 – February 23, 1997) was an American jazz drummer.
Williams first gained fame as a member of Miles Davis' "Second Great Quintet," and later pioneered jazz fusion with Davis' group and his own combo, the Tony Williams Lifetime. In 1970, music critic Robert Christgau described him as "probably the best drummer in the world." Williams was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1986.
Life and career
Williams was born in Chicago and grew up in Boston. He was of African, Portuguese, and Chinese descent. He studied with drummer Alan Dawson at the age of 11, and began playing professionally at the age of 13 with saxophonist Sam Rivers. Saxophonist Jackie McLean hired Williams when he was 16.
At 17 Williams gained attention by joining Miles Davis in what was later dubbed Davis's Second Great Quintet. Williams was a vital element of the group, called by Davis in his autobiography "the center that the group's sound revolved around." His playing helped redefine the role of the jazz rhythm section through the use of polyrhythms and metric modulation. Meanwhile, he recorded his first two albums as leader for Blue Note label, Life Time (1964) and Spring (1965). He also recorded as a sideman for the label including the classics Out to Lunch! with Eric Dolphy and Point of Departure with Andrew Hill, both in 1964.
In 1969 Williams formed the Tony Williams Lifetime, with John McLaughlin on guitar and Larry Young on organ. Lifetime was a pioneering band of the fusion movement.
Their first album was Emergency!. For the Turn It Over album, the trio were joined by bass guitarist and vocalist Jack Bruce. After several more releases and touring, Lifetime disbanded. In 1975, Williams formed “The New Tony Williams Lifetime” featuring bassist Tony Newton, keyboardist Alan Pasqua and guitarist Allan Holdsworth, who recorded two albums for Columbia Records, Believe It and Million Dollar Legs.
In 1976, Williams reunited with his colleagues from the Miles Davis Quintet- saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock and bassist Ron Carter. (Davis himself was in the midst of a six-year hiatus and was "replaced" by trumpeter Freddie Hubbard.) The record was later released as V.S.O.P. The group toured for several years and a series of live albums were released under the name "V.S.O.P." or "V.S.O.P.: The Quintet."
In 1979, Williams, McLaughlin and bassist Jaco Pastorius united for a one-time performance at the Havana Jazz Festival. This trio came to be known as the Trio of Doom, and a recording of their performance (along with some studio tracks recorded in New York shortly thereafter) was released in 2007. It opens with a powerful drum improvisation by Williams, followed by McLaughlin's "Dark Prince" and Pastorius' "Continuum," Williams's original composition "Para Oriente" and McLaughlin's "Are You the One?" Williams and Pastorius had also played together on the Herbie Hancock track "Good Question" from his 1978 album Sunlight. With the group Fuse One, Williams released an album in 1980.
In 1985, he returned to Blue Note and the result was a series of recordings for the label beginning with Foreign Intrigue, which featured the playing of pianist Mulgrew Miller and trumpeter Wallace Roney. Later that year he formed a quintet with Miller, Roney, saxophonist Bill Pierce, and bassist Charnett Moffett (later Ira Coleman). This band played Williams's compositions almost exclusively. Williams also played drums for the band Public Image Limited, fronted by John Lydon (a.k.a. Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols), on their release Album/Cassette/Compact Disc (1986, the album title varied depending on the format). He played on the songs "FFF," "Rise" (a modest hit), and "Home." Bass guitarist Bill Laswell co-wrote those three songs with Lydon. The other drummer on that album was Ginger Baker.
On February 20, 1997, Williams checked into Seton Medical Center in Daly City, California, suffering from stomach pain. Three days later, while recuperating from gall bladder surgery, he died of a heart attack. Williams was 51 years old.
Personal life
Williams lived and taught in the San Francisco Bay Area until his death from a heart attack following routine gallbladder surgery. One of his final recordings was The Last Wave by the trio known as Arcana, a release organized by Bill Laswell.
Discography
As leader/co-leader
Compilation
Lifetime: The Collection (Columbia, 1992)[2CD] – combined Believe It (1975) and Million Dollar Legs (1976)
As a member
The Great Jazz Trio
With Hank Jones and Ron Carter
I'm Old Fashioned with Sadao Watanabe (East Wind, 1976)
Love for Sale (East Wind, 1976)
The Great Jazz Trio at the Village Vanguard (East Wind, 1977)
The Great Jazz Trio at the Village Vanguard Vol. 2 (East Wind, 1977)
Kindness Joy Love & Happiness (East Wind, 1977)
Bird of Paradise with Sadao Watanabe (Flying Disk, 1977)
Milestones (East Wind, 1978)
New Wine in Old Bottles with Jackie McLean (East Wind, 1978)
Direct from L.A. (East Wind, 1978)
Carnaval with Sadao Watanabe (Galaxy, 1978)
The Great Tokyo Meeting (East Wind, 1978)
The Great Jazz Trio at the Village Vanguard Again (East Wind, 2000) – rec. 1977. posthumous release.
Trio of Doom
With Jaco Pastorius and John McLaughlin
Trio of Doom (Columbia Legacy, 2007) – rec. 1979. posthumous release.
Arcana
With Derek Bailey and Bill Laswell
The Last Wave (DIW, 1996) – rec. 1995
Arc of the Testimony also with Pharoah Sanders (Axiom/Island, 1997) – posthumous release
As sideman
With Chet Baker
You Can't Go Home Again (Horizon, 1977)
Chet Baker / Wolfgang Lackerschmid with Wolfgang Lackerschmid (Sandra Music Productions, 1980) – rec. 1979
The Best Thing for You (A&M, 1989) – rec. 1977
With Ron Carter
Third Plane (Milestone, 1978)
1 + 3 (JVC, 1979) – live rec. 1978
Parade (Milestone, 1980) – rec. 1979
Carnaval (Galaxy, 1983) – live rec. 1978
Etudes (Elektra/Musician, 1983) – rec. 1982
With Miles Davis
Seven Steps to Heaven (Columbia, 1963)
Miles Davis in Europe (Columbia, 1963)
Four & More (Columbia, 1964)
My Funny Valentine (Columbia, 1964)
Miles in Berlin (CBS, 1964)
E.S.P. (Columbia, 1965)
Miles Smiles (Columbia, 1966)
Sorcerer (Columbia, 1967)
Nefertiti (Columbia, 1967)
Miles in the Sky (Columbia, 1968)
Filles de Kilimanjaro (Columbia, 1968)
Miles in Tokyo (CBS/Sony, 1969) – rec. 1964
In a Silent Way (Columbia, 1969)
Water Babies (Columbia, 1976) – rec. 1967-68
Circle in the Round (Columbia, 1979) – rec. 1967-68
Directions (Columbia, 1981) – rec. 1967-68
The Complete Live at the Plugged Nickel 1965 (Columbia Legacy, 1995) – rec. 1965
Miles Davis & Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings – four takes of "Falling Water" (Columbia Legacy, 1996) – rec. 1968
Live in Europe 1967: The Bootleg Series Vol. 1 (Columbia Legacy, 2012)
Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 (Columbia Legacy, 2015)
With Tommy Flanagan
The Master Trio (Baybridge, 1983)
Blues in the Closet (Baybridge, 1983)
With Herbie Hancock
My Point of View (Blue Note, 1963)
Empyrean Isles (Blue Note, 1964)
Maiden Voyage (Blue Note, 1965)
V.S.O.P. (Columbia, 1977) – rec. 1976
V.S.O.P.: The Quintet (Columbia, 1977)
V.S.O.P.: Tempest in the Colosseum (CBS/Sony, 1977)
Herbie Hancock Trio (CBS/Sony, 1977)
Sunlight (Columbia, 1978)
V.S.O.P.: Live Under the Sky (CBS/Sony, 1979)
Mr. Hands (Columbia, 1980)
Herbie Hancock Trio (Columbia, 1982) – rec. 1981
Quartet (CBS/Sony, 1982)
One Night with Blue Note Preserved (Blue Note, 1985)
Round Midnight (soundtrack) (Columbia, 1986) – rec. 1985
Future 2 Future (Transparent Music, 2001)
With Jackie McLean
One Step Beyond (Blue Note, 1964) – rec. 1963
Vertigo (Blue Note, 1980) – rec. 1959-63
With Grachan Moncur III
Evolution (Blue Note, 1964) – rec. 1963
Some Other Stuff (Blue Note, 1965) – rec. 1964
With Sonny Rollins
Easy Living (Milestone, 1977)
Don't Stop the Carnival (Milestone, 1978)
No Problem (Milestone, 1981)
With McCoy Tyner
Supertrios (Milestone, 1977)
Passion Dance (Milestone, 1978)
Counterpoints (Milestone, 2004) – rec. 1978
With others
Geri Allen, Twenty One (Blue Note, 1994)
George Cables, Phantom of the City (Contemporary, 1985)
Stanley Clarke, Stanley Clarke (Nemperor, 1974)
Eric Dolphy, Out to Lunch! (Blue Note, 1964)
Kenny Dorham, Una Mas (Blue Note, 1964) – rec. 1963
Gil Evans, There Comes a Time (RCA, 1976) – rec. 1975
Hal Galper, Now Hear This (Enja, 1977)
Stan Getz, Captain Marvel (Columbia, 1972)
Dexter Gordon, The Other Side of Round Midnight (Blue Note, 1986) – rec. 1985
Jonas Hellborg and the Soldier String Quartet, The Word (Axiom, 1991)
Joe Henderson, Relaxin' at Camarillo (Contemporary, 1981) – rec. 1979
Andrew Hill, Point of Departure (Blue Note, 1965) – rec. 1964
Terumasa Hino, May Dance (Flying Disk, 1977)
Allan Holdsworth, Atavachron – Looking Glass (Enigma, 1986)
Charles Lloyd, Of Course, Of Course (Columbia, 1965)
Michael Mantler, Movies (Watt, 1978)
Ray Manzarek, The Golden Scarab (Mercury, 1973)
Branford Marsalis, Renaissance (Columbia, 1987)
Wynton Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis (Columbia, 1981)
John McLaughlin, Electric Guitarist (Columbia, 1978)
Marcus Miller, The Sun Don't Lie (PRA, 1993)
Mulgrew Miller, The Countdown (Landmark, 1989) – rec. 1988
Yoko Ono, Starpeace (PolyGram, 1985)
Michel Petrucciani, Marvellous (Dreyfus, 1994)
Pop Workshop, Song For The Pterodactyl (Grammofonverket, 1974)
Public Image Limited, Album (Virgin, 1985)
Don Pullen, New Beginnings (Blue Note, 1988)
Sam Rivers, Fuchsia Swing Song (Blue Note, 1964)
Wallace Roney, Verses (Muse, 1987)
Carlos Santana,The Swing of Delight (Columbia, 1980)
Travis Shook, Travis Shook (Columbia, 1993)
Wayne Shorter, The Soothsayer (Blue Note, 1979) – rec. 1965
Weather Report, Mr. Gone (Columbia, 1978)
References
Bibliography
Colin_Larkin (ed.) (1992) The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 1st ed., pg. 2699;
Thom Holmes (2006) American Popular Music: Jazz, pg. 216'';
External links
1945 births
1997 deaths
20th-century American drummers
African-American jazz musicians
American jazz drummers
American male drummers
American musicians of Chinese descent
American people of Portuguese descent
Arcana (American band) members
Blue Note Records artists
Grammy Award winners
Hard bop drummers
Jazz fusion drummers
Jazz musicians from Massachusetts
American male jazz musicians
Miles Davis Quintet members
Musicians from Boston
Jazz musicians from Chicago
Post-bop drummers
The Tony Williams Lifetime members
Trio of Doom members
V.S.O.P. (group) members
20th-century American male musicians
Modal jazz drummers
African-American drummers