Fess Williams (born Stanley R. Williams; April 10, 1894 – December 17, 1975) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician.''Biography Index, A Cumulative Index to Biographical Material in Books and Magazines, Volume 10: September 1973 — August 1976'', New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1977

Early life

As a child Williams played several instruments. He received his formal education from N. Clark-Smith at

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was founded as a normal school for teachers on July 4, 1881, by the ...

. By his late teens he had settled on clarinet, and soon afterwards formed the first of many bands he was to lead over the coming years.

Career

From 1919 to 1923, he led his own band before moving to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, and joining

Ollie Powers Ollie Powers (1890 – April 14, 1928) was an American jazz drummer and vocalist. Biography Ollie Powell was born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Louis Armstrong remembered him as a solo entertainer at the Dreamland Cabaret, where ...

. In 1923, he formed a new group in order to back the variety act Dave and Tressie and traveled to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

with them in 1924. There he led a trio in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, as well as a band that played at the Rosemont Ballroom. In 1926, Williams formed the Royal Flush Orchestra. The popular hot jazz outfit held residency at Harlem's

Savoy Ballroom The Savoy Ballroom was a large ballroom for music and public dancing located at 596 Lenox Avenue, between 140th and 141st Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Lenox Avenue was the main thoroughfare through upper Harlem ...

for most of its life, and recorded on the Victor,

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pian ...

Gennett Gennett Records () was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s and produced the Gennett, Starr, Champion, Superior, and Van Speaking labels. The company also produced some Supertone, ...

Okeh OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

, Brunswick,

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

, and

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

labels. Williams, Frank Marvin, and Perry Smith supplied vocals. The flamboyant Williams typically performed wearing a diamond-studded white suit and top hat. During this time he recorded many of his own compositions such as "Friction", "Here 'Tis" and his highest selling record, " Hot Town". In 1928, Williams traveled to Chicago where he temporarily fronted

Dave Peyton Dave Peyton (19 August 1889 – 30 April 1955) was an American songwriter, pianist, arranger, orchestra leader, and music critic columnist for the ''Chicago Defender''. Peyton first began as a pianist in the trio of Wilbur Sweatman, along with ...

's band at the Regal Theatre. Calling the group Fess Williams and His Joy Boys, he recorded two sides with them for Vocalion Records. The Royal Flush Orchestra continued to operate in his absence, and in 1929 he returned to New York to resume his duties. The Royal Flush Orchestra recorded its last side in 1930. Williams remained active as a bandleader, but as the decade progressed his sound became outdated. He fell out of favor with the public and eventually retired from performing full-time to sell real estate. He continued to lead bands periodically during the 1940s and beyond.

Playing style

Williams played in a style reminiscent of Ted Lewis, only less smoothly. He also specialized in the style of Gas Pipe Clarinet which is when the instrument is used to produce all kinds of honks, growls, squeaks and effects that sounded like animal noises, laughter or other sounds you would not expect to hear from a clarinet. He was also a fine exponent of slap tonguing, and utilized

circular breathing Circular breathing is a breathing technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. It is accomplished by inhaling through the nose while simultaneously pushing air out through the mouth usi ...

. This is shown off in his composition "Playing My Saxophone".

Town Hall concert

Williams came from—and fathered—a musical family; his brother Rudolph was a saxophonist and clarinetist, his sons

Rudy Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

and Phil were both saxophonists, and his daughter Estella was a pianist and vocalist. He was also the uncle of the

double bassist The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched chordophone in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions such as the octobass). It has ...

Charles Mingus Charles Mingus Jr. (April 22, 1922 – January 5, 1979) was an American jazz Double bass, upright bassist, composer, bandleader, pianist, and author. A major proponent of collective Musical improvisation, improvisation, he is considered one of ...

who, in 1962, brought Williams back into the spotlight briefly as a guest for the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

concert.

Collaborators and members of Williams' orchestras

Danny Barker Daniel Moses Barker (January 13, 1909 – March 13, 1994) was an American jazz musician, vocalist, and author from New Orleans. He was a rhythm guitarist for Cab Calloway, Lucky Millinder and Benny Carter during the 1930s. One of Barker's earli ...

(1909–1994), banjoist *

Jabbo Smith Jabbo Smith (born Cladys Smith; December 24, 1908 – January 16, 1991) was an American jazz musician, known for his virtuoso playing on the trumpet. Biography Smith was born in Pembroke, Georgia, United States. At the age of six he went into ...

(1908–1991), trumpeter

References

External links

Fess Williams at redhotjazz.com

Fess Williams at Solid, a jazz encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Fess 1894 births 1975 deaths Swing saxophonists American jazz clarinetists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Gennett Records artists Okeh Records artists Vocalion Records artists Swing clarinetists People from Danville, Kentucky Jazz musicians from Kentucky 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians