Sandy Williams

Sandy Williams ( born October 24, 1906 in Summerville, South Carolina when Alexander Balos Williams, † April 25, 1991 in New York City ) was an American jazz trombonist and bandleader.

Alexander " Sandy" Williams' family moved in his youth to Washington, DC; after the death of his parents he went to college in Delaware. In 1927, he joined with Claude Hopkins up in Atlantic City and then returned to Washington DC back; 1929 to 1932 he worked at Horace Henderson and studied with Juan Tizol and James Miller, Jr. 1932/33, he was a member of Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. From 1933 to 1940 Williams played in the Chick Webb Orchestra; one year after Webb's death, he left the discontinued by Ella Fitzgerald band and played with Benny Carter and Coleman Hawkins.

In the early 1940s Williams worked in the bands of Lucky Millinder, Cootie Williams, Mezz Mezzrow, Pete Brown and Wild Bill Davison. In 1943 he was a member of a short time the Duke Ellington Orchestra, where he replaced Lawrence Brown. After that he played, among others with Hot Lips Page, Don Redman and Roy Eldridge. 1945/46, he took some 78s for Riverside under his own name as Sandy Williams Big Eight with musicians such as Denzil Best, Pee Wee Erwin, Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Jones, Shelly Manne, Tab Smith and Cecil Scott on. He then went from 1946 to 1949 with Rex Stewart and his band on a European tour.

In the early 1950s he worked on recordings by Ella Fitzgerald ( Something To Live For) and still played with Sidney Bechet and Art Hodes. Health reasons forced him to end his career, although he still occasionally end of the decade occurred.