Results for "Tony Williams"

Tony Williams

Born in Chicago and growing up in Boston, Williams began studies with master drummer Alan Dawson at an early age and began playing professionally at the age of 13 with saxophonist Sam Rivers. Jackie McLean hired Williams at 16. At 17 Williams found considerable fame with Miles Davis, joining a group that was later dubbed Davis's "Second Great Quintet." His first album as a leader, 1964's Life Time (not to be confused with the name of his band "Lifetime," which he formed several years later) was recorded during his tenure with Davis. Williams was a vital element of the group, called by Davis in his autobiography "the center of the group's sound". [citation needed] His inventive playing helped redefine the role of jazz rhythm section through the use of polyrhythms and metric modulation (transitioning between mathematically related tempos and/or time signatures). But perhaps his overarching achievement was in demonstrating, through his playing, that the drummer need not be relegated to timekeeping and accompaniment in a jazz ensemble; that the drummer may be free to contribute to the performance as an equal partner in the improvisation. In 1969, he formed a trio, "The Tony Williams Lifetime," with John McLaughlin on guitar and Larry Young on organ

Michael Cuscuna: In The Vault Playing God

By AAJ STAFF

From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in December 2000. Michael Cuscuna is one of the most important figures in the jazz reissue field today. He has been responsible for hundreds of releases for many companies, and he was fortunate to meet and befriend Alfred Lion during the final ...

Take Five with TRi/O's Steve Shapiro, Dave Anderson and Tyger MacNeal

By AAJ STAFF

Meet TRi/O TRi/O is a collaborative groove-based contemporary jazz & funk outing from three New York musicians: Steve Shapiro on vibraphone and mallet keyboards, virtuoso 5-string bassist Dave Anderson, and drummer Tyger MacNeal. Their combined credits comprise a long list of major jazz and pop artists—including Steely Dan, Ornette Coleman, Phil Collins, Spyro Gyra, Whitney Houston, ...

Meet Kenny Barron

By CRAIG JOLLEY

From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in March 2001. Jazz Education I recently retired from Rutgers University. Right now I teach piano one day a week at Manhattan School of Music. In September I'll be teaching at the new jazz program at Julliard. I've taught David Sanchez and ...

John McLaughlin: Where The Muse Leads

By MIKE JACOBS

John McLaughlin—Miles Davis protégé. Jazz/rock revolutionary. East-meets-West visionary. Acoustic, electric and electronic guitar maestro. Now elder statesman of jazz—what is there left to say? A lot it seems... As a septuagenarian who was facing debilitating hand issues—and possibly the end of his playing career—he was starting to say his farewells to touring ...

Take Five with AXIOM

By AAJ STAFF

Meet Axiom Founded and brought together by brothers Pete and Phil Templer, guitarist/composer and drummer/percussionist/composer respectively, the goal was to establish a creative and engaging environment to present a dynamic musical experience to audiences of all types. Pete and Phil both hail from the Midwest where they began their musical journey studying and playing ...

Gerald Cleaver & Vioilet Hour: Live at Firehouse 12

By STEFANO MERIGHI

Gerald Cleaver incarna brillantemente la versione versatile del jazzista contemporaneo. Batterista e compositore, origini a Detroit, Cleaver giostra con fierezza e senso funambolico all'interno di tutti gli stili dominanti nella scena odierna. Può contribuire alla raffinatezza di gruppi accasati alla ECM, navigare a vista in organici del tutto sperimentali ("Farmers by Nature," “Black Host"), ...

Bill Stewart Interview

By MIKE BRANNON

From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in May 2002. Upon joining The John Scofield group in the mid '80s it seemed like drummer Bill Stewart just appeared out of nowhere. They of course did a number of tours and studio dates together while word got around about Stewart's ...

Catching up with Herbie Hancock

By MIKE BRANNON

From the 1995-2003 archive: This article first appeared at All About Jazz in September 1998. Seldom has a musician been so closely associated with two separate musical genres as has pianist and composer Herbie Hancock. Originally introduced to the world as part of Miles Davis' mid-60's group, which also included Wayne Shorter, Tony Williams ...

Take Five with Markus Rutz

By MARKUS RUTZ

Meet Markus Rutz Markus Rutz plays trumpet with bluesy, soulful style and a tone that has been called gorgeous. He composes music from his home base in jny: Chicago, Illinois where he also performs modern jazz. As described by Downbeat's J.D. Considine, with his “big, dark tone and a fluid ease to his phrasing," trumpet player, ...