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Bradley Williams
Popular Chicago Pianist/Bandleader/Arranger/Composer - creator of the Original 21st Century Review and collaborator with Sheila Jordan, Joe Henderson, Von Freeman, and Art Hoyle
About Me
Bradley Williams: a Chicago-based Jazz pianist, composer, vocalist and producer. He is a Grammy-nominated pianist/arranger for Woody Herman's Thundering Herd, with whom he recorded and toured in the mid-1980s. After settling in Chicago he brought his talents and ensembles to such classic venues as The Bop Shop, The Green Dolphin Street, The Jazz Showcase, The Green Mill, The Gold Star Sardine Bar and, currently, Le Piano. His compositions have been incorporated into multiple film soundtracks, and his composition/orchestration “Beyond Bars,” a tone poem featuring the words of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, was premiered by the Cape Symphony in January 2020. Williams leads his own 10-piece band, “The Original 21st Century Review,” a group that toured the Middle East and India and, most recently, appears on his CD ”Investigation.” His trio was featured at the 2017 Chicago Jazz Festival, and he is currently writing and producing an original musical entitled “The Magic Word.” Williams also recently collaborated with his wife, vocalist and pianist Amy Jill, on their CD, “Back and Forth.” His latest release as of 2025 is a solo piano recording of his original compositions, ”Big Eyes Big Ears,” He currently appears Saturday nights with his Jazz Quartet at Le Piano, a jazz club in the Rogers Park area of Chicago. Williams teaches Jazz piano and vocal technique at Wheaton Conservatory in Wheaton, Illinois, and served on the faculties of DePaul University School of Music, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois Benedictine College, and the Moscow College of Improvisation. In the world of broadcasting he is co- host/creator of the internationally syndicated “Words and Music” program on Chicago’s WFMT radio station.
