Irvin Williams (August 17, 1919 – December 14, 2019) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Throughout his nine-decade career, Williams focused on the Great American Songbook and the tenor sax as a solo vehicle.

Musical history

His first instrument was the violin before switching to the clarinet and then to the tenor saxophone. In 1942 Williams moved to Saint Paul (

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

). In his early career, he played in bands behind

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April25, 1917June15, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter and composer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phra ...

, Fletcher Henderson,

Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and ...

, and

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...

at venues such as the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

or the Howard Theater. Turning down invitations to go on tour with

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, or

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

, he chose to stay and become part of the

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...

(Twin Cities), history. While teaching in various public schools in St. Paul, he played with the late Reginald Buckner. In the Twin Cities, Williams has played at every jazz venue, past and present, including the old Flame Bar where he was often back to back with such stars as

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie ( ; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improvisation, improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy El ...

, and

Johnny Hodges Johnny Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophone, alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on sop ...

. Since his 84th birthday, Williams came up with a stream of releases: ''That’s All'' (2004), ''Dedicated to You'' (2005), followed by one of his most acclaimed, ''Duo'' (2006) with piano partner Peter Schimke, and ''Finality'' (2008). In 2011, Williams recorded ''Duke's Mixture'', a quintet with Peter Schimke, Steve Blons, Billy Peterson and Jay Epstein; the set list includes five original compositions from Williams and his vocal debut on " Until the Real Thing Comes Along", together with two

Irving Berlin Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin; May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born American composer and songwriter. His music forms a large part of the Great American Songbook. Berlin received numerous honors including an Acade ...

standards and a pair of blues tunes. Irv Williams had a regular weekly gig at the Dakota Jazz Club in downtown Minneapolis.

Personal life

Williams had nine children from two marriages.

Honors and awards

* 1984 – First jazz musician to be honored by the State of

with his own "Irv Williams Day". * 1990 – Picture appeared on the "Celebrate Minnesota" official state map * 1995 – Named an Arts Midwest Jazz Master * 2005 – At the KBEM Winter Jazz Festival, Irv was one of three recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards. * 2010 – Appeared on the cover of ''Saint Paul Almanac'' * Inducted into the Minnesota Jazz Hall of Fame * His former saxophone has been integrated into the "Minnesota’s Greatest Generation" exhibit at the Minnesota History Center

Discography

* ''Keep the Music Playing'' (1994) * ''Peace, with Strings'' (1996) * ''STOP Look and Listen'' (2000) * ''Encore'' (2001) * ''That’s All'' (2004) * ''Dedicated To You'' CD (2005) * ''Duo'' - Irv Williams and Peter Schimke (2006) * ''Finality'' (2008) * ''Duke’s Mixture'' (2011) * ''Then Was Then, Now Is Now'' (2014) * ''

Pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

'' - Irv Williams Trio (2015)

Filmography

* 2012 – featured in ''Arts and the Mind'', a documentary on PBS * 2012 – ''The Funkytown Movie'', music documentary by Megabien Entertainment

References

External links

Jazz legend Irv Williams at MPRnewsIrv Williams on SPNN's Doc U programIrv Williams Discography at artists.MTV
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Irv 1919 births 2019 deaths African-American jazz musicians American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians African-American centenarians American men centenarians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century American saxophonists