Jessica Williams RIP

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

I've just seen on Organissimo that Jessica Williams has died. Someone who had more than her (un)fair share of troubles but a great talent...

Here's her solo "Blue Tuesday", appropriately.

http://youtu.be/0JUQT9jOe68

RIP

[Serial_Apologist]

I've just seen on Organissimo that Jessica Williams has died. Someone who had more than her (un)fair share of troubles but a great talent...

Here's her solo "Blue Tuesday", appropriately.

http://youtu.be/0JUQT9jOe68

RIP

Yes, just seen this.

R.I.P. Jessica.

[Jazzrook]

I've just seen on Organissimo that Jessica Williams has died. Someone who had more than her (un)fair share of troubles but a great talent...

Here's her solo "Blue Tuesday", appropriately.

http://youtu.be/0JUQT9jOe68

RIP

Rarely mentioned on this bored, Jessica Williams deserved to be much better known.
Here she is playing 'Love And Hate' in 2006:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=c3bCEd31_z0

JR

[gradus]

Sad news, I only have a couple of her CDs but they get played regularly.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Sad news, I only have a couple of her CDs but they get played regularly.

An excerpt from Ted Gioia's tribute to JW from his excellent blog

"A small group of admirers knew how talented Jessica Williams was. But her reputation was never fully commensurate with her abilities. I don’t know all the details, but I know enough of them to say that she was often her own worst enemy. The same spontaneous immersion in the moment of creativity that made her such an formidable keyboardist also made it impossible for her to pursue the careful career management that would have brought wider attention.

I believe that, under the right circumstances, she might have enjoyed a crossover audience. There was a visceral appeal to her music-making that could have drawn in listeners outside of a jazz clique. But I don’t think Jessica thought much about audience expansion—everything about her suggested that she made music for her own enjoyment and as part of her personal quest for self-expression and bliss.

She never had the backing of a major label. There was no marketing campaign to boost her visibility. Most of her best work was for companies of limited distribution and even less clout. Even so, she still earned two Grammy nominations and a handful of high profile honors (Guggenheim Fellowship, NEA Grant, etc.).

It would be easy for the music world to forget Jessica Williams because they never paid much attention in the first place. But the work is still out there—for posterity and for those who care to seek it out in the current day. She made more than forty albums, each one of them demonstrating the effortless mastery that always characterized her work..."

[Ian Thumwood]

An excerpt from Ted Gioia's tribute to JW from his excellent blog



I believe that, under the right circumstances, she might have enjoyed a crossover audience. There was a visceral appeal to her music-making that could have drawn in listeners outside of a jazz clique. But I don’t think Jessica thought much about audience expansion—everything about her suggested that she made music for her own enjoyment and as part of her personal quest for self-expression and bliss.

This is an interesting statement. I really think that there are elements within jazz which stand by their own, self-contained standards which exists beyond the mainstream. You only have to think of styles such as Gypsy jazz, organ-related groups or Latin Jazz outfits which exist outside of the norms and are judged differently. Solo piano or piano trios seem to me to fall into this category and I think it is not unreasonable to say that these musicians have a following beyond jazz - maybe because so many people have learned to play the piano at some point in their life. I just feel that solo jazz piano is one of the most exposed formats in jazz as there is no place to hide.

It does fascinate me just how people like Jessica Williams managed to acquire such a devoted following when her music totally escewed any trappings of commerciality. When I first started listening to jazz, I remember reading a book by John Mehegan (an associated of the great Teddy Wilson) about certain pianists being "dissidents" in so far that they constantly defied convention. It is an idea which really resonated with me. In my opinion two of the highest disciplines in jazz are piano and composition.

Has anyone heard the Amercian based Russian puanist Yelena Eckemoff ? I keep seeing her name crop up and being surprised that someone who has the likes of Chris Potter, Billy Hart , Mark Feldman in her line ups seems so under the radar. I cannot recall hearing her music but assumed that she was exactly the kind of musician who would also have appealed to fans of Jessica Williams. The albums look tempting albeit Eckemoff produces all the cover art as well. She also writes poetry.

[Jazzrook]

Jessica Williams with David Captein & Mel Brown playing Monk's 'Green Chimneys' in Oregon, 1998 with some moving words from JW in the 'Comments' section:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=JlCtJ8j1UXM

JR