Artists You Should Know: Drummer Tony Williams

Drummer

Tony Williams

(1945-1997) isn’t exactly a household name; probably only jazz fans of

Miles Davis‘s quintet from the 1960’s know about him. He joined Miles’s group at the age of 16, and Miles always held him in high esteem. So did

Herbie Hancock, who learned a lot from him. In his autobiography,

Possibilities, Herbie praised Tony Williams for his musical inventiveness, openness, and curiosity about all forms of music, especially avant-garde classical music. Williams also recorded some incredible early jazz/rock fusion with

John McLaughlin and others with the group

The Tony Williams Lifetime. He was a true genius.

faux pas and Williams did not have a great interview experience. Alas, when I tried to get him to revisit after that, he said he would never come back again.

He died early, at just 52 years of age. I recommend Miles Davis at the Plugged Nickel (1965) to get a glimpse of Williams’s precocious genius. I also loved his album Angel Street. Along with Elvin Jones, he was one of jazz’s greatest drummers and anybody who loves jazz music should remember that. Here’s an early clip of young Williams playing with Miles: