Ben Williams (musician)

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Ben Williams

| image = Ben Williams 01.jpg

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1984|12|28}}

| birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.

| genre = Jazz

| occupation = Musician

| instrument = Bass

| years_active = 2000s–present

| label = Concord, Rainbow Blonde Records,

| associated_acts = Stefon Harris, Pat Metheny

| website = {{URL|www.benwilliamsmusic.net}}

}}

Ben Williams (born December 28, 1984, Washington, D.C.) is an American jazz bassist.

Biography

Ben Williams began playing bass at age 10, was raised in the District of Columbia, and graduated from Duke Ellington School of the Arts. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education from Michigan State University and a Master of Music in Jazz Studies at the Juilliard School.

In 2009, he won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition as judged by Ron Carter, Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Robert Hurst, Christian McBride, and John Patitucci.{{cite web|url=http://monkinstitute.org/competition/past-winners-and-judges/|title=Past Winners and Judges - Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz|work=Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz|access-date=17 September 2015}} The honor included a recording contract with Concord Records through which he released his debut album, State of Art, in 2011, featuring saxophonist Marcus Strickland, guitarist Matthew Stevens, pianist Gerald Clayton, drummer Jamire Williams, and percussionist Etienne Charles. His album Coming of Age, was released in April 2015 featuring sidemen Marcus Strickland on tenor and soprano saxophones, Matthew Stevens on electric guitar, Christian Sands on piano, and John Davis on drums.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/21/arts/review-ben-williams-sturdily-steps-up-on-coming-of-age.html|title=Review: Ben Williams Steps up on 'Coming of Age'|newspaper=The New York Times|date=20 April 2015|last1=Chinen|first1=Nate}}

In August 2020, Williams contributed to the live streamed recording of the singer Bilal's EP VOYAGE-19, created remotely during the COVID-19 lockdowns. It was released the following month, with proceeds from its sales going to participating musicians in financial hardship from the pandemic.{{cite magazine|last=Schatz|first=Lake|date=September 7, 2020|url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/09/stream-bilal-voyage-19-album/|title=Stream Bilal's New Album VOYAGE-19|magazine=Consequence of Sound|access-date=September 12, 2020}}{{cite web|last=Threadcraft|first=Torry|date=September 6, 2020|url=https://www.okayplayer.com/music/bilal-highbreed-music.html|title=Check Out Bilal And HighBreedMusic's 'VOYAGE-19' Album|website=Okayplayer|access-date=September 12, 2020}}

Awards and honors

Williams was a member of guitarist Pat Metheny's Unity Band, which won Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for Unity Band in the 2013 Grammy.{{cite web|url=http://www.grammy.com/photos/ben-williams-and-pat-metheny/|title=Ben Williams And Pat Metheny|work=The GRAMMYs|access-date=17 September 2015}}

Williams was introduced as one of the “25 for the Future” by DownBeat magazine in 2016.{{cite magazine |last=Micalef |first=Ken |date=July 2016 |title=25 for the Future / Ben Williams |url=http://www.downbeat.com/digitaledition/2016/DB1607/single_page_view/32.html |magazine=DownBeat |location=Chicago |volume=83 |issue=7 |page= 32 |access-date=2020-03-08 }}

Discography

=As leader=

class="wikitable sortable"

!Year recorded

!Title

!Label

!Personnel/Notes

2011

|State of Art

|Concord

|Quintet, with Marcus Strickland (saxophone), Matthew Stevens (guitar), Gerald Clayton (piano), Etienne Charles (percussion), and Jamire Williams (drums)

2015

|Coming of Age

|Concord

|Quintet, with Marcus Strickland (tenor and soprano saxophones), Matthew Stevens (electric guitar), Christian Sands (piano), and John Davis (drums)

2020

|I Am A Man

|Rainbow Blonde Records

|Various artists, with Ben Williams (voice and bass), Kris Bowers (piano, keyboards), David Rosenthal (guitar), Jamire Williams (drums), Justin Brown (drums), Bendji Allonce (percussion), and special guests