Fat Man Williams

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Dave Albert "Fat Man" Williams (born April 26, 1920 in New Orleans ; † March 13, 1982 ) was an American rhythm & blues and jazz musician ( piano , vocals ).

Dave Williams was born on Touro Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans; his mother was an organist for the First Free Will Baptist Church . He started playing the piano at the age of five and gained his first musical experience in his cousins' band. Around 1940 he had his first professional appearances in local clubs. After the war he played with Freddie Kohlman , then in the rhythm and blues scene for the Imperial Records label ; He was nicknamed "Fat Man" because of its physical and musical similarity to Fats Domino .

Under his own name, Williams recorded the Fats Domino number "Don't You Hear Me Calling You" for Specialty in 1959 , which, however, remained unpublished and was only released in 1986 on the compilation Crescent City Bounce on Ace Records . In 1963 he recorded four more tracks accompanied by Ernest Poree (alto saxophone), Narvin "Ray" Kimball (bass) and Lloyd Washington (drums), which appeared on his 1974 debut LP I Ate Up the Apple Tree . In 1965 he played in the Hugh Watts Jeune Amis Jazz Band, who u. a. also included Alvin Alcorn and Captain John Handy .

Williams did not make further recordings until 1974, when he appeared with his band consisting of Clive Wilson (trumpet), Clarence Ford (clarinet, tenor sax), James Prevost (bass) and Ralph "Chester" Jones (drums) at Lee and Charlie's nightclub . In the following years he played with Alvin Alcorn and His New Orleans Jazz Band, Kid Thomas Valentine & The Preservation Hall Jazz Band (with whom he toured Japan in 1976), and in Denmark with Peter Nissen's New Orleans Band. There he stepped u. a. also with Wild Bill Davison at the Hot House Jazz Club in Herlev . In 1980 and 1981 he made guest appearances with the Houlind-Rimington New Orleans Band (from Doc Houlind and Sammy Rimington ) at the jazz festival Femø , in August 1981 in Copenhagen, where his last recordings were made. In the field of jazz, he was involved in twelve recording sessions between 1959 and 1981.

His playing was a mix of rhythm and blues and New Orleans jazz .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bob L. Eagle, Eric S. LeBlanc: Blues: A Regional Experience . 2013, p. 172.
  2. ↑ a b Portrait in Morning Star ( Memento of the original dated November 30, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.morningstaronline.co.uk
  3. ↑ Dave "Fat Man" Williams at Discogs (English)
  4. ↑ a b c d Tom Lord The Jazz Discography (online, accessed November 30, 2016)
  5. ↑ Dave Fat Man Williams at Allmusic (English)
personal data
SURNAME Williams, Fat Man
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Williams, Dave Albert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American rhythm & blues and jazz musician (piano, vocals)
DATE OF BIRTH April 26, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH New Orleans
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 1982