Jazz Articles about Tony Williams
A Nostalgic Journey With Fusion From The '70s

by Len Davis
A nostalgic journey to the '70s with Herbie Hancock, Brand X, Soft Machine, Gong, The Eleventh House Larry Coryell, Michal Urbaniak, Brecker Brothers, Tony Williams, Billy Cobham and Jean-Luc Ponty.PlaylistHerbie Hancock Sansho Shima" from Secrets (Record Label) 00:00Brand X Malaga Virgen" from Livestock (Charisma) 05:39Soft Machine Out Of Season" from Softs (Harvest) 11:24Gong Boring" from Expresso 2 (Virgin) 17:01Larry Coryell Yin Yang" from Aspects (Arista) 22:43Michal Urbaniak Bahamian Harvest" from Fusion (MPS) 28:33The Brecker Brothers Squids" from Heavy ...
read moreTony Williams and Al Foster: Give The Drummers Some

by Doug Collette
Are drummers the most colorful members of the jazz community? Certainly as the keepers of the beat, the bands in which they play rotate around them, whether they are at center stage or off to the side in performance or behind baffles right alongside them in the studio. And the assertive and authoritative likes of such dashing contemporary figures as Brian Blade, Mike Clark and Allison Miller only offer further testament to that hallowed notion. As does the late Tony ...
read moreAnthony Williams: Life Time & Spring Revisited

by Chris May
Drummer Tony Williams' first two albums as leader, recorded for Blue Note in 1964 and 1965Life Time when he was only eighteen years old, Spring when he was nineteenstill sound delightfully fresh all these years after their original release. At the time he made them, Williams was a rising star with Miles Davis' second and third quintets, the first a short-lived unit with saxophonist George Coleman, the second a longer lasting one with Wayne Shorter. One of ...
read moreExploring music from 1975 and 1978

by Len Davis
Exploring 1975 and 1978, plus Mark Egan, Ben Wendel and Yellowjackets. Playlist The New Tony Williams Lifetime Mr Spock" from Believe It (Columbia) 00:00 David Sancious One Time" from Forest of Feelings (Epic) 0:06:38 Gong Soli" from Expresso 2 (Virgin) 13:17 Major Surgery Beans" from Rare Live Performances (The Last Music Company) 19:47 Mark Egan-Danny Gottlieb Blue Sound Bath" from Electric Blue (Wavetone) 26:14r Terreon Gully-Greg Spero Spherical" from Tiny Room Sessions (Tiny Records) 32:41 Ben Wendel Drawn ...
read moreBlue Note Review 2: Spirit & Time and More

by Marc Cohn
Lots of cool features this week. First, Side 2 of the new-music LP from 2nd limited-edition Blue Note Review box with drummers Tony Allen and Chris Dave reimagining Tony Williams compositions. Then, a deep dive into the Savoy vaults from 1947 with recreations of 78s by Charlie Parker, Fats Navarro and Dexter Gordon. Celebrating Sonny Rollins with 2 more selections from Monk's Brilliant Corners release on Riverside and the 2020 centennial of Carmen McRae with tracks from her stupendous session, ...
read moreBlue Note Review 2 & Play a Game with DrJ, Newk & Lady Day

by Marc Cohn
It's Gifts and Messages show No. 400 from the studios of WHYRhow did that happen? To celebrate (but let's face it, we celebrate every week), we have a game for you: tunes written by famous saxophonists 'reimagined' in 2019name the composer. We also have a start on listening to the Blue Note Review #2 collectors' box (highlighting the compositions of Tony Williams); Sonny Rollins with Trane from 1956; and songs associated with Billie Holiday. Enjoy the show! Sincere thanks to ...
read moreTony Williams: Life Time

by Matthew Aquiline
By now, it's an irrefutable fact that drummer Tony Williams was the youngest preeminent figure within the avant-garde movement of the mid-'60s. Every jazz fan seems to know the events that led to his international fame: after intriguing trumpeter Miles Davis with his cutting-edge approach to drumming, he was hired and added to the groundbreaking Second Great Quintet" at the ripe age of 17. During this significant stint, Williams altered the trajectory of Davis' music, solidified himself as a drum ...
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