Buster WIlliams © Howard A. Gitelson

“Something More” is an apt title for Buster Williams’ ensemble. Among the busiest and most prolific of modern bassists, Williams has always been more than a sideman, from his early days with Jimmy Heath, Gene Ammons, and Sonny Stitt (all before age 20), to his alliance with such vocalists as Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, and Betty Carter, to his work on projects as diverse as the Jazz Crusaders, Herbie Hancock’s Mwandishi Band, and Sphere with T.S. Monk. In addition to his numerous supporting roles, Williams has also shone as a frequently-recorded leader and composer. The Penguin Guide to Jazz notes his “impeccable harmony” and a “rhythmic sense that is unfailing, feeling, and utterly original.” In time for the holidays, Williams brings his latest version of Something More to Sweet Rhythm in Greenwich Village, New York City.

Bass players often are overlooked or underappreciated even by “jazz fans”—bass solos often seem to be regarded as mere intermissions while the horn or piano takes a break. Buster Williams commands our attention, as much to his supporting lines as to his dynamic and creative solos.

The son of a bassist, Williams grew up in New Jersey, noting that “we were a two-bass family.” He was playing with Jimmy Heath while still in high school, and shortly after graduation was working with Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. Later he was hired by Dakota Staton, and over time appeared with jazz giants such as Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Chet Baker, Chick Corea, Dexter Gordon, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Larry Coryell, Lee Konitz, McCoy Tyner, Illinois Jacquet, Nancy Wilson, Elvin Jones, Miles Davis, the Jazz Crusaders, Ron Garter, Woody Shaw, Sarah Vaughan, Benny Golson, Mary Lou Williams, Hank Jones, Lee Morgan, Jimmy Rowles, Hampton Hawes, Cedar Walton, Bobby Hutcherson, Billy Taylor, Sonny Rollins, Count Basie, Errol Garner, Kenny Barron, Charlie Rouse, Kenny Dorham, Freddie Hubbard, and more. But "after working almost continuously for 30 years as a sideman," says Buster, "I decided it was time to take the plunge, step up to the front, play my music, and express my concept of a cohesive musical unit. I've served my apprenticeship under many great masters and feel that it's my honor and privilege to carry on the lineage that makes this music such an artistically rich art form.” Williams was awarded an NEA grant for composition in 1991, shortly after forming the first configuration of his “Something More” band. In addition to his quartet, Williams recent work has included tours with Kenny Barron (with whom he once collaborated on the ensemble Sphere) and Benny Golson.

Steve Wilson © Andrea Canter

The current Buster Williams Something More Quartet offers “something more” than a great bass player and composer. Always traveling in superb company, Williams will bring an all-star ensemble to Sweet Rhythm with monster pianist George Colligan , the sublime Steve Wilson on alto sax, and long-time collaborator Lenny White on drums.

George Colligan (June 23) spent much of his youth in Columbia, MD and studied both piano and trumpet at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore. Focused thereafter on keyboards, as a sideman he has worked with Cassandra Wilson, Don Byron, and Lonnie Plaxico; is a member of the Mingus Dynasty Septet, and has released 11 recordings as leader, often playing Hammond B-3 as well as piano. Based in New York for the past decade, Colligan is one of the most in-demand keyboardists. In 2003 he was awarded a rare Chamber Music Society of American grant for new jazz compositions.

Dubbed a “musician’s musician,” soprano/alto saxman Steve Wilson has played sideman on over 100 recordings with such artists as Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Don Byron, Bill Stewart, James Williams, and Mulgrew Miller. Notes George Varga in the San Diego Times, “Wilson has the rare ability to say more with less and to let the space between each note breathe and resonate.” The Virginia native began formal sax studies at 12, continuing at Virginia Commonwealth University where he studied or played with Percy Heath, Jon Hendricks, Jaki Byard, Frank Foster and Ellis Marsalis. After moving to New York, he was part of the OTB (Out of the Blue) Sextet and toured with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. Today he tours with many of the top bands in jazz, including the Maria Schneider Orchestra, as well as with Buster Williams, Michael Weiss, and his own quartet (Ed Howard, Bruce Barth, Adam Cruz). Wilson is also a dedicated jazz educator and former faculty member at William Paterson College.

Lenny White

And what better choice of drummer than Lenny White? Best known for his early work with Miles Davis (on “Bitches Brew”) and Chick Corea’s Return to Forever band, White is still known more as a fusion drummer than mainstream jazz artist, which is a shame because he so readily morphs into the latter in the company of such talents as Buster Williams and Patrice Rushen. In fact, much like Steve Smith of Journey, Lenny White has proven to be a master of percussion regardless of genre.

The Buster Williams “Something More” Quartet promises that the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts—and given the parts, that means two nights of exceptional jazz at Smoke!

Sweet Rhythm is located at 88 Seventh Avenue South in New York’s Greenwich Village; phone 212-255-3626 for reservations. Sets at 8:00 pm, 10:00 pm, and midnight. Visit www.sweetrhythmny.com.