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Bruce Williams

Bruce Williams is a powerful young jazz saxophonist who hails from our nation's capital of Washington, D.C. He has made his presence known on the jazz scene by garnering critical attention with his own enthusiastically received CD releases - "Brotherhood" and "Altoicity" - issued on Savant Records. He's made an indelible impression as a sideman on over twenty other CD and video recordings. Bruce has performed, toured, and recorded with a long roster of jazz legends - Little Jimmy Scott, Frank Foster, The Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Stanley Cowell, Louis Smith, Cecil Brooks III, The Count Basie Orchestra, The World Saxophone Quartet, Russell Gunn, Curtis Fuller, and Roy Hargrove to name a few.

Bruce Williams is a versatile saxophone stylist, performing in a variety of diverse playing environments - from traditional to hip-hop to the avant-garde. He has been an honored recipient of awards from DownBeat magazine and The Charlie Parker Music and More Foundation. His ability to perform masterfully in a range of jazz styles has placed him on two Grammy nominated recordings and sent him to numerous cities throughout the US and abroad - France, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, Switzerland, the West Indies, and Japan.

Bruce Williams is a versatile saxophone stylist, performing in a variety of diverse playing environments - from traditional to hip-hop to the avant-garde. He has been an honored recipient of awards from DownBeat magazine and The Charlie Parker Music and More Foundation. His ability to perform masterfully in a range of jazz styles has placed him on two Grammy nominated recordings and sent him to numerous cities throughout the US and abroad in France, Italy, Germany, Scandinavia, the West Indies, Lebanon, and Japan.

Bruce Williams is currently the newest and youngest member, of the internationally recognized jazz group, "The World Saxophone Quartet". Bruce is currently a member of a newly founded group by legendary drummer Ben Riley, the "Thelonious Monk Legacy Septet". Bruce also leads four bands of his own - a quartet, a quintet, a jazz organ trio, and a progressive electric jazz group.

A noted jazz educator and mentor to young jazz musicians; Bruce has given master classes at Ohio State, Iowa State, The Jazz Institute of New Jersey, The University of the District of Columbia, Princeton University, The New Jersey Performing Arts Center "Jazz For Teens" program, and the Paris Conservatory in France. He has served as adjunct saxophone instructor at both the New School for Social Research (Mannes School of Music) in NYC, Princeton, and William Paterson Universities in New Jersey while continuing to nurture a healthy rooster of private students of his own.

New releases from Bruce Williams, Rachel Spencer, Russ Anixter's Hippie Big Band and Kay Kostopoulos

by George Graham
August 25, 2026

George Graham spotlights four new releases from Bruce Williams, Rachel Spencer, Russ Anixter's Hippie Big Band and Kay Kostopoulos.Playlist Bruce Williams “Every Time We Say Goodbye" from Solid Perspective (WJ3) 05:05 Bruce Williams “The Matriarch" from Solid Perspective (WJ3) 05:40 Rachel Spencer “The Next Right Thing" from The Next Right Thing (self-released) 03:29 Rachel Spencer “Bias" from The Next Right Thing (self-released) 07:00 Russ Anixter's Hippie Big Band “I Saw Her Standing There" from What Next (self-releases) 04:54 ...

Album Review

Bruce Williams: Solid Perspective

Read "Solid Perspective" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
August 18, 2026

Alto saxophonist Bruce Williams, who doubles as composer, triples as arranger and quadruples as vocalist on one number, brings enviable creds to Solid Perspective, his fifth recording as leader of his quartet. Williams has worked steadily since leaving his native Washington, DC, for New York City, where he has remained for more than two decades, performing with groups large and small both stateside and around the world while polishing his resume as a respected educator and mentor to many rising ...

Album Review

Ted Chubb: Live at The Statuary

Read "Live at The Statuary" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
June 8, 2026

Trumpeter, composer and educator Ted Chubb leads a blue-chip quintet on Live at The Statuary, recorded during four concert sessions in March 2025 at the historic Jersey City, New Jersey, site that Chubb co-owns with his wife, Rachel Ryll. This is wall-to-wall hard bop jazz wherein Chubb and his front-line partner, alto saxophonist Bruce Williams, tread an undeviating straight-ahead path, one that their audience seems to appreciate. These concerts, however, are far more sedate than exciting, and represent ...

Liner Notes

Altin Sencalar: Unleashed

by C. Andrew Hovan
April 19, 2025

Often overshadowed by other solo instruments, the trombone boasts a rich history in jazz--one so vast it could fill volumes. New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz, also gave rise to Kid Ory, a pioneer of the “tailgate" style of trombone playing. In the early 1900s, bandleaders often promoted their shows by parading through town on horse-drawn wagons. Trombonists, needing space to extend their instrument's slide, would sit at the back on the open tailgate, projecting their bold, brassy sound into ...

Liner Notes

Altin Sencalar: Unleashed

by Altin Sencalar
February 23, 2025

Unleashed is an album that captures my overall headspace as an individual. This year I turned 30 years old and welcomed my firstborn child into the world, John Altin Sencalar. Two major milestones in any person's life, but especially mine this year. Unleashed represents my playing, my personality, and my overall attitude towards my career development. When thinking about this album, I take many chances that I would not have done in the past specifically playing the trombone in an ...

Album Review

Markus Gottschlich: Found Sounds

Read "Found Sounds" reviewed by Jack Bowers

by Jack Bowers
December 30, 2020

Found Sounds? As it turns out, there is a special story behind that. For four years leading up to this recording, Austrian-born pianist Markus Gottschlich preserved “sounds" he heard around the world using a binaural mic and hand-held recording device. He writes that one thing he found was that “sounds, more than any other sensory stimulus" sparked his imagination and set his creative juices in motion. He has incorporated a number of those sounds into the nine original compositions on ...

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Album Review

Bruce Williams: Altoicity

Read "Altoicity" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
July 1, 2000

The music on Bruce Williams’ Altoicity covers a variety of jazz styles from the past 60 years. Along with his front line partner, trumpeter Russell Gunn, and the formidable support of pianist Marc Cary, bassist Gerald Cannon, and drummer Cecil Brooks III (who doubles as the disc’s producer), the alto saxophonist displays his fluency in frameworks ranging from bebop to free jazz. Williams plays with a maturity that enables him to put his personal stamp on every track.

A hip, ...