Pianist/vocalist/composer/arranger
2010 Official Shanghai Expo Songwriter
2008 Official Beijing Olympics Songwriter
Keith Williams hails from San Francisco, California and is a graduate of the famed Berklee College Of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He draws on his church roots when he plays or sings, capturing a warm, bluesy feeling that touches the soul. Keith has performed with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, vocalist Tierney Sutton, former James Brown trombonist Fred Wesley, periodically with renowned bassist Ben Tucker, and for 5 years he led his own trio, The Brothers 3, at Dante’s Down The Hatch, Atlanta’s premier Jazz club. He has performed with other groups and as a solo pianist/vocalist in the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Atlanta/Monteux Jazz Festival as well as in various hotels, clubs and venues in Boston, Atlanta, the Southeastern United States, Japan, Malaysia, China, Switzerland, and Korea. Keith’s outstanding arranging skills are showcased in his scoring of bassist Phil Morrison's composition, "Matsumoto No Yume"(Japanese: Matsumoto Dreams) for Jazz quintet, traditional Japanese music instruments (shakuhachi and koto), strings and flutes. This piece can be heard on the Phil Morrison/Keith Williams World Unity Jazz Ensemble (WUJE) CD, CHINA SKIES, which also features traditional Chinese instruments (erhu & dizi). To hear some of the music from this CD, for which Keith did all of the arranging and some composing, go to www.cdbaby.com/cd/wuje. Other CDs that
Keith Williams hails from San Francisco, California and is a graduate of the famed Berklee College Of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He draws on his church roots when he plays or sings, capturing a warm, bluesy feeling that touches the soul. Keith has performed with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, vibraphonist Lionel Hampton, vocalist Tierney Sutton, former James Brown trombonist Fred Wesley, periodically with renowned bassist Ben Tucker, and for 5 years he led his own trio, The Brothers 3, at Dante’s Down The Hatch, Atlanta’s premier Jazz club. He has performed with other groups and as a solo pianist/vocalist in the Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Atlanta/Monteux Jazz Festival as well as in various hotels, clubs and venues in Boston, Atlanta, the Southeastern United States, Japan, Malaysia, China, Switzerland, and Korea. Keith’s outstanding arranging skills are showcased in his scoring of bassist Phil Morrison's composition, "Matsumoto No Yume"(Japanese: Matsumoto Dreams) for Jazz quintet, traditional Japanese music instruments (shakuhachi and koto), strings and flutes. This piece can be heard on the Phil Morrison/Keith Williams World Unity Jazz Ensemble (WUJE) CD, CHINA SKIES, which also features traditional Chinese instruments (erhu & dizi). To hear some of the music from this CD, for which Keith did all of the arranging and some composing, go to www.cdbaby.com/cd/wuje. Other CDs that
Keith has recorded with Phil Morrison can be found at www.cdbaby.com . Keith's interest in composing and arranging have led him to compose and arrange for Jazz combos of various sizes, big bands, orchestras, string ensembles, and brass quintet, and to produce, arrange for and direct major productions of the music of leading American composers and lyricists such as Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn and Johnny Mercer in the United States and Japan. One of these productions was presented at the world famous Suzuki Method School in Matsumoto, Japan in 1999 using Jazz trio, female vocalist and orchestra. Keith’s interest in blending orchestral and Jazz elements has been the inspiration for a work that he is planning for Jazz nonet, orchestra, vocalists and choir. After joining the Phil Morrison Trio in 1994 where he was featured, Keith’s reputation as a pianist/vocalist grew tremendously. Keith and Phil Morrison wrote on of the official songs for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, "Beijing Olympics Hao Yun (Mandarin Chinese: Beijing Olympics Good Luck) and also one of the officials songs for the Shanghai World Expo 2010, "Shanghai Expo Twenty Ten". He performed with renowned erhu(Chinese "violin") player Ma Xiao Hui and bassist Phil Morrison with their World Unity Jazz Ensemble in a concert of Chinese and Western music in the famed Shanghai Concert Hall which was broadcasted on television and radio throughout China. They also did a similar concert together with the Coastal Symphony of Georgia. Keith currently resides in the San Francisco bay area with vocalist Kaori Yamada. Keith performs extensively in the San Francisco bay area with Kaori, as a solo piano/vocalist and with larger ensembles. He is also a piano teacher and vocal coach.
Keith can be contacted by e-mail at clentis99@yahoo.com,
or by phone at 650-918-7095 or 650-477-9058.
His promo blog is http://keithpiano.blogspot.com
