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Richard Gene Williams (May 4, 1931 – November 4, 1985) 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 ...
trumpeter.


Biography

Williams was born in Galveston,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, and played tenor saxophone early in his life before picking up trumpet as a teenager. He played in local Texas bands and attended Wiley College, where he majored in music. After serving in the
Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
from 1952 to 1956, he toured Europe with
Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...
, and upon his return took a master's degree at the
Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...
. Williams played with Charles Mingus at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1959, and recorded with Mingus starting in that year. He recorded his only session as a leader, ''New Horn in Town'' (1960) for Candid Records, and featuring
Reggie Workman Reginald "Reggie" Workman (born June 26, 1937) is an American avant-garde jazz and hard bop double bassist, recognized for his work with both John Coltrane and Art Blakey, in addition to Alice Coltrane, Mal Waldron, Max Roach, Archie Shepp, Tri ...
, Leo Wright, Richard Wyands, and Bobby Thomas. Williams was a sideman on many releases for Blue Note, Impulse!, New Jazz, Riverside, and Atlantic in the 1960s. Among the musicians he worked with, apart from Mingus, are Oliver Nelson,
Grant Green Grant Green (June 6, 1935 – January 31, 1979) was an American jazz guitarist and composer. Green has been called one of the "most sampled guitarists." Biography Grant Green was born on June 6, 1935, in St. Louis, Missouri, to John and ...
, Lou Donaldson, Yusef Lateef, Gigi Gryce, and Duke Jordan and the
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...
s of
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 ...
, Gil Evans,
Thad Jones Thaddeus Joseph Jones (March 28, 1923 – August 20, 1986) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and bandleader who has been called "one of the all-time greatest jazz trumpet soloists". Early life, family and education Thad Jones was born i ...
and Mel Lewis, Sam Rivers and Clark Terry. He also found work on Broadway in pit orchestras, in particular the premiere productions of '' The Me Nobody Knows'' and '' The Wiz''. He appears on the original Broadway cast recordings of both musicals. Williams also led bands under his own leadership, playing in New York jazz clubs such as Sweet Basil, the Village Vanguard, and Gerald's. In addition to jazz trumpet, Williams also performed with classical orchestras, playing piccolo trumpet and flugelhorn. Williams died on November 4, 1985, from kidney cancer in his Jamaica, New York home, at the age of 54.


Discography


As leader

* '' New Horn in Town'' ( Candid, 1960)


As sideman

With Ahmed Abdul-Malik * '' Sounds of Africa'' (New Jazz, 1961) With Mose Allison * '' Hello There, Universe'' (Atlantic, 1970) With Jaki Byard * '' Out Front!'' (Prestige, 1964) With Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis * '' Trane Whistle'' (Prestige, 1960) With Booker Ervin * '' Cookin''' (Savoy, 1960) * '' The In Between'' (Blue Note, 1968) With Bill Evans and George Russell * '' Living Time'' (Columbia, 1972) With
Red Garland William McKinley "Red" Garland Jr. (May 13, 1923 – April 23, 1984) was an American modern jazz pianist. Known for his work as a bandleader and during the 1950s with Miles Davis, Garland helped popularize the block chord style of playing in jazz ...
* ''
Soul Burnin' ''Soul Burnin'' is an album by jazz pianist Red Garland, recorded in 1960 and 1961, but not released on Prestige Records until 1964.Rediscovered Masters'' (Prestige, 1977) With Gigi Gryce * '' Saying Somethin'!'' (New Jazz, 1960) * '' The Hap'nin's'' (New Jazz, 1960) * '' The Rat Race Blues'' (New Jazz, 1960) * '' Reminiscin''' (Mercury, 1960) * '' Doin' the Gigi'' (Uptown, 2011) With Slide Hampton * '' Sister Salvation'' (Atlantic, 1960) * '' Somethin' Sanctified'' (Atlantic, 1960) * '' Drum Suite'' (Epic, 1962) * '' Exodus'' (Philips, 1962 964 With John Handy * '' In the Vernacular'' (Roulette, 1958) With Noah Howard * ''
Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...
'' (Boxholder, 2001) With Sam Jones *'' Something New'' (Interplay, 1979) With Duke Jordan * '' Duke's Delight'' (SteepleChase, 1975) With
Rahsaan Roland Kirk Rahsaan Roland Kirk (born Ronald Theodore Kirk; August 7, 1935Kernfeld, Barry.Kirk, Roland" ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2nd ed. Ed. Barry Kernfeld. ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Grove Music Online''. ''Grove Dictionary of M ...
* '' The Roland Kirk Quartet Meets the Benny Golson Orchestra'' (Mercury, 1964) * '' Left & Right'' (Atlantic, 1968) * '' Other Folks' Music'' (Atlantic 1976) With Yusef Lateef * '' The Centaur and the Phoenix'' (Riverside, 1960) * '' Jazz 'Round the World'' (Impulse!, 1963) * '' Live at Pep's'' (Impulse! 1964) With Les McCann * '' Comment'' (Atlantic, 1970) With Jack McDuff * '' The Fourth Dimension'' (Cadet, 1974) With Charles McPherson * '' Today's Man'' (Mainstream, 1973) With Carmen McRae * '' Something to Swing About'' (Kapp, 1959) With Charles Mingus * '' Mingus Dynasty'' (Columbia 1959) * '' Pre-Bird (Mingus Revisited)'' (Mercury 1961) * '' The Complete Town Hall Concert'' (Blue Note, 1962 994 * '' The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady'' (Impulse!, 1963) * '' Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus'' (Impulse!, 1963) With Mingus Dynasty * ''
Reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...
'' (Soul Note, SN1042, 1982) With Oliver Nelson * '' Screamin' the Blues'' (New Jazz, NJ 8243, 1960) With John Patton * '' The Way I Feel'' (Blue Note 1964) ;With Hilton Ruiz *'' Excition'' (SteepleChase, 1977) *'' Steppin' Into Beauty'' (SteepleChase, 1977 982 With Jimmy Smith * '' Hoochie Coochie Man'' (Verve, 1966) With The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra * '' Presenting Thad Jones/Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra'' (Solid State, 1966) * '' Presenting Joe Williams and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis, The Jazz Orchestra'' (Solid State, 1966) * '' Live at the Village Vanguard'' (Solid State, 1967) * '' The Big Band Sound of Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Featuring Miss Ruth Brown'' (Solid State, 1968) * '' Monday Night'' (Solid State, 1968) * '' Central Park North'' (Solid State, 1969) With Charles Tolliver * '' Music Inc.'' (Strata-East, 1971) * '' Impact'' (Strata-East, 1975) With Randy Weston * '' Uhuru Afrika'' (Roulette, 1960) With Leo Wright * '' Blues Shout'' (Atlantic, 1960) With Max Roach * '' It's Time'' (Impulse!, 1962)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Richard 1931 births 1985 deaths Musicians from Galveston, Texas American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Candid Records artists Wiley University alumni 20th-century American trumpeters Jazz musicians from Texas 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians Mingus Dynasty (band) members The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra members Deaths from kidney cancer in the United States