Jessica Williams
Jessica Jennifer Williams (born March 17, 1948 in Baltimore , Maryland ) is an American pianist and composer of modern jazz .
Live and act
Jessica Williams started taking piano lessons at the age of four and learned to play classical piano at the Peabody Conservatory of Music since she was seven. Her family later moved to Philadelphia ; there she later played in the quintet of Philly Joe Jones . In 1977 she moved to San Francisco , where she worked in jazz clubs with various house bands, including Eddie Harris , Dexter Gordon , Tony Williams and Stan Getz . She also became the resident pianist for the Keystone Korner Club . She also recorded a variety of albums for the jazz labels Candid , Fantasy , Timeless , Concord , Jazz Focus, Hep and Maxjazz . In 1997 she founded her own label, Red and Blue Recordings , on which her albums appeared from now on. She also runs her own music publisher, JJW Music . In 2004 and 2006 she performed at the Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC . She now lives in Washington State .
After Richard Cook and Brian Morton, she combines elements of the game of Art Tatum , Dave Brubeck , Bill Evans and Hampton Hawes in her style .
Awards
She was nominated for a Grammy for the albums Nothin 'But the Truth 1986 and Live At Yoshi’s , Vol. 1 in 2004 ; She also received the National Endowment for the Arts in 1984 and 1988, the Rockefeller Grant for composition in 1989, the Alice B. Toklas Grant for women composers in 1992, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in 1995. In 2002 she was Artist of the Year in Santa Cruz County . In Billboard Magazine her album reached This Side Up in 2002, # 24 in jazz albums.
Discographic notes
- 1976 Portal of Antrim - Adelphi
- 1986 Nothin 'But the Truth - Black Hawk
- 1990 And Then, There's This - Timeless
- 1992 Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 21 - Concord Jazz
- 1993 Next Step - Hep
- 1994 Encounters - Jazz Focus
- 1995 Inventions - Jazz Focus
- 1995 Intuition - Jazz Focus
- 1996 Gratitude - Candid
- 1996 Jessica's Blues - Jazz Focus
- 1996 Victoria Concert - Jazz Focus
- 1997 Higher Standards - Candid
- 1998 Encounters, Vol. 2 - Jazz Focus with Leroy Vinnegar
- 1998 Joyful Sorrow: A Solo Tribute to Bill Evans - BlackHawk
- 1999 Ain't Misbehavin ' - Candid
- 2000 Jazz in the Afternoon - Candid
- 2000 Blue Fire - Jazz Focus
- 2001 I Let a Song Go out of My Heart - Hep
- 2001 Some Ballads, Some Blues - Jazz Focus
- 2002 This Side Up - Maxjazz
- 2003 All Alone - Maxjazz
- 2004 Live At Yoshi's, Vol. 1 - Maxjazz
- 2004 The Real Deal - Hep Jazz
- 2005 Live at Yoshi's, Vol. 2 - Maxjazz
- 2006 Billy's Theme: A Tribute to Dr. Billy Taylor - Origin
- 2011 Freedom Trane
- 2012 Songs Of Earth - Origin
- 2014 With Love - Origin
literature
- Richard Cook , Brian Morton : The Penguin Guide of Jazz on CD . 6th edition. Penguin, London 2002, ISBN 0-14-051521-6 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Williams, Jessica |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Williams, Jessica Jennifer (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American jazz pianist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 17, 1948 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Baltimore , Maryland |