Jazz Police - Buster Williams’ “Something More” Quartet at Nighttown, September 27th

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 professional musician (dad played bass, drums and piano), Charles Anthony Williams grew up in New Jersey, noting that “we were a two-bass family.” He had not really considered bass seriously until he heard a recording of the great Oscar Pettiford, and then begged his father to seriously teach him to play bass. Soon Buster 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.

The current Buster Williams Something More Quartet offers “something more” than a great bass player and composer. Always traveling in superb company, and often promoting the talents of musicians half his age, Williams will bring an all-star ensemble to Nighttown with monster pianist George Colligan, young sax master Casey Benjamin, and one of New York’s hottest drummers, Willie Jones III.

George Colligan

George Colligan 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. Saxophonist Casey Benjamin covers it all from jazz to hip hop, making his mark as a member of Stefon Harris’ Blackout and Robert Glasper’s Experiment as well as with his own eclectic projects. Explosive drummer Willie Jones III spent his early years with Milt Jackson and Horace Silver. Lately he has been holding down the trapset for such luminaries as Kurt Elling, Ernestine Anderson, Roy Hargrove, Eric Reed and Hank Jones.

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 sets of exceptional jazz at Nighttown!

Nighttown is located at 12387 Cedar Road in Cleveland Heights, OH; reservations at 216-795-0550; www.nighttowncleveland.com.