Williams never achieved stardom, but he was a regular performer and recorder in high-profile situations, including under the leadership of Lou Donaldson and Oliver Nelson. Williams was inspired by Charlie Parker and Fats Navarro, a bop trumpeter. He switched to trumpet when he was in his teens. He played the tenor sax around his Texas home and earned his music degree from Wiley College in the early 1950s. After his discharge from the Air Force in 1956, he traveled Europe with Lionel Hampton’s Band. He returned to the USA, where he received his master’s in music at the Manhattan School of Music. His career took off in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Williams was chosen by Mingus to organize a new band at the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival. In November 1959, Williams joined Mingus for a session. He played on classics like Gunslinging Bird, Song With Orange and Farwell’s Mill Valley. Mingus would continue to perform with him on an occasional basis. Williams recorded New Horn in Town in 1960 under his own name, along with the Candid label’s bassist Reggie Workman and alto saxophonist Leo Wright. The band also featured pianist Richard Wyands and Bobby Thomas. This was Williams’s last session as a leader. Williams was a sideman on numerous albums for Blue Note, Impulse and New Jazz, Riverside, Atlantic, and other labels over the next ten years. His connection to alto saxophonist Gigi Gryce is a highlight. He recorded with her several times in the early ’60s. Williams’s skills as a section player earned him gigs with Duke Ellington and Gil Evans, Thad Jones Mel Lewis, and others. He was also a member of Broadway’s pit orchestras. He was part of the original cast recording of The Wiz in 1975. That year, he also collaborated with Duke Jordan as a pianist. Williams toured Europe with his own band during the 1970s. Williams was most well-known as a bop-oriented jazz improviser. However, he did play free jazz at least once, in 1977, when he recorded a date with Noah Howard, an alto saxophonist. Williams’s career in jazz was completed when he joined Mingus Dynasty, a tribute band to Mingus. Allmusic
