Thursday, July 22, 2004
Tribute to James Williams, jazz pianist
The unfortunate news continues. After Ray Charles, Elvin Jones, and Nap Turner, pianist James Williams passed on Monday. James was truly a magnificent pianist. Having played in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, James had performed with pretty much all the big names in jazz. He later became a prominent educator, nurturing pupils like Peter Cincotti, Geoff Keezer, etc.
I met James a couple of time at Twins Jazz. James was very approachable and had no ego. We were chatting about great saxophone players like George Coleman and Stanley Turrentine and great singers like Etta Jones. James' piano style was a classy, academic style with a lot of grace and accuracy. The last time I saw James, he was in great health and fit like a bird. Too bad we lost another great member of the true jazz cats. Check out James Williams' website here.
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I met James a couple of time at Twins Jazz. James was very approachable and had no ego. We were chatting about great saxophone players like George Coleman and Stanley Turrentine and great singers like Etta Jones. James' piano style was a classy, academic style with a lot of grace and accuracy. The last time I saw James, he was in great health and fit like a bird. Too bad we lost another great member of the true jazz cats. Check out James Williams' website here.
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