The Vermont Jazz Center will welcome bassist Ben Williams and his group Sound Effect to the stage on Saturday, May 14th at 8:00 PM. Sound Effect is Ben Williams, bass; Marcus Strickland, saxophones; Alex Wintz, guitar; Willerm Delisfort on piano and Rhodes; John Davis on drums.
Ben Williams is the winner of the 2009 Thelonious Monk Competition on bass. He is also the recipient of a Grammy Award for his work with Pat Metheny’s Unity Band and was voted as top overall rising star in Downbeat’s 2015 Critic’s Poll. Most recently, Williams was chosen as bassist for the White House’s celebration of International Jazz Day. After introductions by President Obama, Irina Bokova (Director General of UNESCO), and Herbie Hancock, Williams accompanied Chucho Valdéz, Paquito D’Rivera, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, Trombone Shorty, Lionel Loueke, Robert Glasper, and Herbie Hancock in a moving example of how music unites the entire world. Williams’s consumate ability to support a wide range of styles is reflected in the numerous recordings he has appeared on with Pat Metheny, Jacky Terrasson, George Benson, The NEXT Collective, Eric Reed, and many more. He is an in-demand sideman and has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Roy Hargrove, Mulgrew Miller, Chaka Khan, Terrence Blanchard, Stefon Harris, Pharrell Williams, and Herbie Hancock; he appears with Don Cheadle in the new tribute to Miles Davis – “Miles Ahead.”
As a result of winning the Thelonious Monk competition, Williams secured a contract with Concord Music Group. To date, he has recorded two highly acclaimed CDs with them and his 2011 release, State of Art, earned 4 ½ stars from Downbeat and topped the charts on Jazz Radio Week and iTunes.
Williams’s 2015 release Coming of Age was nominated for 5 Grammys. He is now touring to feature music from this deeply personal recording which reflects his growth as a composer and emerging voice as an advocate for change. This new CD affirms Williams’s ability to incorporate a brilliant mix of what’s currently hip (hip-hop and funk) with a classic sensibility that reflects his deep respect for the jazz tradition and appreciation for the mentors with whom he has studied and performed.
Ben Williams’ concept seamlessly knits disparate influences into unified mosaics creating compelling, beautifully constructed compositions that move the audience with infectious beats and intelligent concepts. He digs deeply into his subject matter investigating current events, interpolating and expressing challenging topics through his mesmerizing music. Williams seeks to bring meaning and healing energy to his listeners; he wrote the uplifting “Strength And Beauty” on the day of the 2012 Newtown school shooting: “The tragic news hit me hard, and this tune came to me as a way of feeling my way through the tragedy. The title was inspired later, when I saw how [jazz saxophonist] Jimmy Greene and his family responded to losing their daughter at Newtown. Their pain is something most of us can’t even imagine, but the way Jimmy held it together and became a beacon of light and true strength was an inspiration to everyone.”
In both of his recordings as a leader Williams uses guest artists to great effect: we hear a heartfelt tribute to Nelson Mandela with vocalist Goapele, a lush string quartet, a spoken word hip-hop tribute to Lee Morgan, and an acoustic bass cover of Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit–all supported by very funky, agile bass playing.
For his concert at the VJC Williams will be using his core quintet. He states: “I’m always looking for guys who are team players, who are great players but know how to elevate the whole band,” Williams says. “They play in a way that makes everybody else around them sound better, but also bring their own voice to the music.”
The most familiar sideman in William’s quintet is saxophonist Marcus Strickland who initially made his mark in Roy Haynes’ Fountain of Youth. He has seven albums out as a leader and has twice won Down Beat Magazine’s Rising Star award and claimed JazzTimes’s Best New Artist (in ’06); he placed third in the 2002 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. Strickland has appeared on over 100 albums with Robert Glasper, Orrin Evans, Dave Douglas, Roy Haynes, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Lonnie Plaxico, Lage Lund, Ben Wolfe, Jimmy Owens, and others.
Guitarist Alex Wintz has appeared on over two dozen recordings. He is a graduate of Julliard’s masters in jazz program and is a National Foundation of the Arts Award winner. He was a finalist in the Montreux Jazz Guitar and Detroit Jazz Festival competitions and was a member of the Clifford Brown/Stan Getz Fellowship All Stars.
Pianist Willerm Delisfort easily shifts between jazz, blues, gospel, hip-hop and pop. He’s collaborated with Fareed Haque, Grammy Award-winning artist T-Pain, Calvin Newborne, Corey Wilkes, Pharez Whitted, George Freeman, Ernest Dawkins, Red Holloway, Marquis Hill, Milton Suggs, and Christian McBride and has appeared at many festivals and venues around the world.
Ben Williams’s drummer is John Davis who has earned praise for his work with Cassandra Wilson, Alicia Olatuja, Etienne Charles, Eric Reed, Eric Lewis, Sarah Charles, Christian Sands, Noah Haidu, Gilad Hekselman, Myron Walden, and many others.
On May 14th the VJC will hear the shape of jazz to come. Ben Williams’s Sound Effect is an excellent example of the finest young players now touring the world – artists comfortable in genres ranging from soul and R&B to hip hop and gospel, because their training is in jazz, they have learned the skill set and language to move fluidly between these musical forms and call them all their own. Indeed, Marcus Strickland (and Nicholas Peyton) calls the style they play “Black American Music” – Sound Effect is at the vanguard of this approach. Come listen to the leading progenitors of this music at the Vermont Jazz Center.
The VJC is especially grateful for sponsorship of this event by an anonymous couple who are deeply involved with VJC’s educational programs. The VJC is also grateful for the ongoing support from the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Hospitality for our artists is provided by the Hampton Inn of Brattleboro. VJC publicity is underwritten by the Brattleboro Reformer, WVPR, WVEW, WFCR and Chris Lenois of WKVT’s Green Mountain Mornings.
Tickets for Ben Williams and Sound Effect concert held on May 14th at the Vermont Jazz Center are $20+ general admission, $15 for students with I.D. (contact VJC about educational discounts); available at In the Moment in Brattleboro, or online at www.vtjazz.org, by email at ginger@vtjazz.org. Tickets can also be reserved by calling the Vermont Jazz Center ticket line, 802-254-9088, ext. 1. Handicapped access is available by calling the VJC at 802 254 9088.
Contact: Eugene Uman – eugene@vtjazz.org
Sound Effect at Dizzy’s
Ben Williams Bass Solo
Ben Williams on Paul Chambers
Sound Effect at NPR Tiny Desk Concert
Ben Williams’ Lee Morgan Story
Smells Like Teen Spirit
Coming of Age Preview Video
May 14th, 2016
Ben Williams and Sound Effect at the Vermont Jazz Center
Press Release
Writer’s credit, Eugene Uman
For immediate release
Contact Eugene Uman, Vermont Jazz Center, 802 254 9088, eugene@vtjazz.org
Short Summary
• Who: Ben Williams, bass and bandleader; Marcus Strickland, saxophones; Alex Wintz, guitar; Willerm Delisfort on piano and Rhodes, and John Davis on drums.
• What: Black American Music, Jazz Standards, and original compositions influenced by funk, hip hop and gospel.
• When: Saturday, May 14th at 8:00 PM
• Where: The Vermont Jazz Center, 72 Cotton Mill Hill, #222, Brattleboro, VT 05301
• Tickets available: online at www.vtjazz.org, by email at gingervjc@gmail.com, by phone 802 254 9088, in person at In The Moment, Main St., Brattleboro, VT.
Thelonious Monk Competition Winner, bassist Ben Williams to bring his group Sound Effect to the Vermont Jazz Center, Saturday, May 14th at 8:00 PM
