James Williams
(b. 3/8/51 - Memphis, TN d. 7/20/04 - New York, NY )
Title: Alter Ego On Alter Ego, five of the seven songs were composed by Williams,
while the other two (including the memorable "Waltz for Monk")
were contributed by Donald Brown. The exciting music on this CD sounds
as fresh now (20 years later) as it did back then! |
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| Title: Awesome! Personnel: James Williams (piano), Ray Brown (bass), Elvin Jones (drums). Recorded: 1997 Label: DIW Comments: James made several outstanding recordings for Verve during the 1980s with groups that he each referred to as a "Magical Trio." On this 1997 session he is reunited with the two veterans who made up the best of the previous editions; the matchless bassist Ray Brown and outstanding drummer Elvin Jones accompany his always brilliant piano playing. His no holds barred approaches to "It's Alright With Me" and Mary Lou Williams' "Lonely Moments" are driving arrangements full of surprising twists, his jaunty striding take of "Give Me the Simple Life" is beautifully understated, and he adds a lush introduction to Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady." Fueled by Jones' percussion, Williams adds a Latin kick to the old standard "Sweet and Lovely." The pianist can't resist (and shouldn't!) showing off his gospel roots with a swinging version of the spiritual "Go Tell It on the Mountain." This Japanese import is well worth the investment. |
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| Title: Truth, Justice & The Blues Personnel: James Williams (piano) & ICU: Billy Pierce (tenor sax & soprano sax), Steve Wilson (alto & soprano sax), Steve Kroon (percussion), John Lockwood & Christian McBride (bass), Yoron Israel (drums), Miles Griffith & Roger Holland (vocals). Recorded: 1994 Label: Evidence Comments: Truth, Justice and the Blues was a new project for James, featuring his new band, ICU, which brought in the vocals of Miles Griffith and Roger Holland. Essentially an album of acoustic post-bop, James incorporates elements of gospel, blues, and soul. The results are quite spiritual; some of the comparisons that immediately come to mind include Duke Ellington's more gospel-influenced material and the Horace Silver LPs that feature Andy Bey. All of the melodies were written by Williams, although Pamela Baskin-Watson provides most of the lyrics (including seldom heard lyrics for Alter Ego). That is, she writes lyrics for the songs that have lyrics — Griffith and Holland stick to wordless scatting on a few of the selections. If you're interested in really great music and hold Joe Williams, Marvin Gaye, Sister Clara Ward, and Jimmy Witherspoon in equally high regard — you'll find that Truth, Justice and the Blues is among Williams' finest accomplishments. |
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