Johnny Williams (pianist)
John Thomas "Johnny" Williams (* 28. January 1929 in Windsor , Vermont , † 15. December 2018 in Wilmington , North Carolina ) was an American pianist of modern jazz .
Live and act
Johnny Williams began his musical career as a church organist in his hometown; at 16 he played with Mal Hallett in Boston , at 19 with Johnny Bothwell . From 1949 he lived in New York, worked briefly at Charlie Barnet and in the following years u. a. with Charlie Barnet, Stan Getz 1953/54, Don Elliott and Zoot Sims . He has been on recordings with Med Flory , Bill De Arango , Paul Quinichette , Art Mardigan , Charlie Mariano ( Charlie Mariano Plays , 1953 on Bethlehem ), Nick Travis ( The Panic is On , 1954), Bob Brookmeyer / Stan Getz ( Pernod , 1954), Phil Woods ( Woodlore , 1955). Williams' piano style is influenced by Bud Powell and Horace Silver .
In 1954 he recorded his first 10-inch album under his own name ( John Williams ), which was released by Emarcy. Bill Anthony (bass) and Frank Isola (drums) played in his trio, musicians who were friends with Stan Getz. In 1955 a second album was released, the 12-inch LP John Williams Trio . In the mid-1950s he worked with Cannonball Adderley , as well as with the Sax Section with Al Cohn and Gene Quill (1956) and with Buddy Collette in 1959 and with Pete Rugolo in California in 1960 .
In addition to appearing with Marian McPartland in her program Piano Jazz , he worked in the following years as a full-time bank clerk and as City Commissioner of Hollywood (Florida) for twenty years .
Lexigraphic entry
- Carlo Bohländer , Karl Heinz Holler: Reclams Jazzführer (= Reclams Universal Library. No. 10185). 2nd, revised and expanded edition. Reclam, Stuttgart 1977, ISBN 3-15-010185-9 .
- Leonard Feather , Ira Gitler : The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press, New York 1999, ISBN 0-19-532000-X .
Individual evidence
- ↑ John Williams Obituary. In: legacy.com. Wilmington Star News, December 19, 2018, accessed January 8, 2019 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Williams, Johnny |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Williams, John Thomas |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American modern jazz pianist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 28, 1929 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Windsor , Vermont |
| DATE OF DEATH | 15th December 2018 |
| Place of death | Wilmington , North Carolina |