Valdo Williams

Valdo Williams ( born 1929 in Canada, † 2010) was an American jazz pianist. One of his idols was Thelonious Monk.

Life and work

Williams' father was a surgeon, in whose house in New York there were two pianos. In his youth, Williams was playing with his friends Herbie Nichols and Randy Weston. In 1948 he is said to have taken in New York first experiments with free play forms in the jazz idiom. Sonny Rollins and Jackie McLean became aware at this time on his improvisations.

In the early 1950s Williams lived in Montreal, where he performed with bassist Bob Rudd. Throughout his career, only a few pictures were taken; In February 1953 he joined with Charlie Parker, Dick Garcia and Hal Gaylor on in the TV show Jazz Workshop of the Canadian station CBC - TV. Williams played and arranged in this period music of Charlie Parker or was in touch with him. In January 1957 he was a member of the trio of David Amram with Dennis Charles, who played at the Five Spot and was extended for a month to John Ore; partly also played with the bassist Ahmed Abdul -Malik. Lester Young, who appeared in 1958 with Williams at the Five Spot for a long period, encouraged the pianist to his solo explorations: "Do not give up Do not never give up "

Recordings with Williams as a sideman emerged in March 1963 with Hal Singer and Dick Vance. In August 1964 Williams appeared several times in the Cellar Coffee with his trio and Bill Dixon and in a New York coffee shop with Alan Silva and drummer Gerald Splivvy McKeever on; once rose an Albert Ayler. On 4 October 1964, he played in one of the concerts of the October Revolution in Jazz with his trio. In 1965, he worked as a musician in a play about a jazz musician on a book by Robert Reisner with. Drummer Barry Altschul played first ( 1963) in the band of Williams.

Williams took in December 1966 under his own name on four influenced by free jazz, original compositions for the label Savoy Records. His teammates on the album New Advanced Jazz bassist Reggie Johnson were and drummer Stu Martin. In February 1967, the downbeat a concert of Williams' New Advanced Jazz Trio announces; then lose track of him. In the field of jazz Williams worked 1953-1966 with six recording sessions.