Fess Williams

James P. Johnson , Fess Williams, Freddie Moore, Joe Thomas 1948.
Photograph by William P. Gottlieb .

Stanley "Fess" Williams (born April 10, 1894 in Danville (Kentucky) , † December 17, 1975 in New York City ) was an American jazz musician ( clarinet , alto saxophone ) and band leader who worked in the 1920s to 1940s was popular.

Live and act

Fess Williams, whose other nickname was also Professor , comes from a musical family; his nephew was Charles Mingus . He learned the violin in his childhood, switched to the clarinet in his youth and then studied at Tuskegee University . Soon after finishing his education he formed his first band, with which he performed in Cincinnati from 1919 to 1923 before moving to Chicago and playing with Ollie Powers . In 1923 he formed a new band with which he played in the Dave and Tressie variety troupe . He came to New York with the troupe in 1924; there he led a trio in Albany (New York) and had a band in the Rosemont Ballroom.

In 1926 Williams founded his formation Fess Williams and his Royal Flush Orchestra, with which he was successful until 1930. The Royal Flush Orchestra played hot jazz , which was popular at the time , performed mostly in Harlem's Savoy Ballroom and recorded a number of records for the Victor, Vocalion , Gennett, Okeh , Brunswick , Champion and Harmony labels . Well-known musicians such as Harry Carney , Jimmy Harrison , Hank Duncan and Bud Scott played in his orchestra , as well as the trombonist David "Jelly" James .

In late 1928 Williams went to Chicago to temporarily lead the Dave Peyton Orchestra, which played at the Regal Theater. He named the group Fess Williams and His Joy Boys and used them to record two sides of records for Vocalion, Dixie Stomp and Drifting and Dreaming. In his absence, the Royal Flush Orchestra continued; In 1929 he returned to New York and made his last recordings with the orchestra in 1930.

His most famous compositions included Friction, Here 'Tis and Hot Town, which was his greatest success. After the dissolution of the Royal Flush Orchestra , Fess Williams remained active as a band leader, but his music was increasingly forgotten, even if he continued to perform with his own bands in the 1940s. He can also be heard on recordings by Sammy Price and Ruben Reeves .

The Town Hall Concert 1962

Fess Williams reappeared in 1962 when his nephew Charles Mingus invited him to his legendary Town Hall Concert as a musician to open the second half of the concert. However, Williams contributions are not included on the album of the same name The Complete Town Hall Concert .

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Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, Oxford et al. 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .

Web links

Remarks

↑ Cf. Gene Santoro Myself When I am Real - The Life and Music of Charles Mingus Oxford, New York 2000, p. 201
↑ Gene Santoro mentions in his Mingus biography ( Myself When I am Real - The Life and Music of Charles Mingus , p. 77) that Fess Williams was the husband of Louise, the sister of Mingus' mother. He helped the young musician with the arrangement of his early composition "Mingus Fingers".

personal data
SURNAME	Williams, Fess
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Williams, Stanley
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American jazz musician and band leader
DATE OF BIRTH	April 10, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH	Danville, Kentucky
DATE OF DEATH	17th December 1975
Place of death	New York City

[1] Cf. Gene Santoro Myself When I am Real - The Life and Music of Charles Mingus Oxford, New York 2000, p. 201

[2] Gene Santoro mentions in his Mingus biography ( Myself When I am Real - The Life and Music of Charles Mingus , p. 77) that Fess Williams was the husband of Louise, the sister of Mingus' mother. He helped the young musician with the arrangement of his early composition "Mingus Fingers".