Joe Williams Indeed Led ‘a Fulfilling Life’

The death of Joe Williams last week deprives the jazz world--and the world in general--of one of its most musically masterful voices. More than that, it symbolizes the passing of a generation of artists that sustained the enormous creative energies of the ‘30s and ‘40s into the final years of the century.

Williams was into his 30s when he had his first big hits--”Ev’ry Day I Have the Blues,” “The Comeback,” “Alright, Okay, You Win,” among others--with the Count Basie Orchestra. But he was a well-seasoned artist, fully capable of working in a wide range of styles, even though he was initially viewed as a blues singer. And, although he proved, over and over again, that he was a versatile performer, as comfortable with a ballad as he was with an up-tempo rhythm tune or a scat vocal, he never reached the kind of broad popular audience that his talent clearly seemed to deserve.

But he was not alone in that arena of semi-visibility. Like Billy Eckstine, Al Hibbler and Herb Jeffries, all born within four years of one another, between 1914 and 1918, Williams (who was 80 when he died) was part of a generation that came to maturity at a time when--to put it kindly--there was some societal resistance to attractive, big-voiced, musically gifted, male African American singers.

“That was the era of the male ballad singer,” he recalled a few years ago. “Frank Sinatra, Jack Leonard, the Eberle brothers, Dick Haymes. Movies were always the next step for singers like that if they were what they called ‘photogenic.’ But aside from Herb Jeffries’ roles as the Bronze Buckaroo, it didn’t happen for the black man until Sidney Poitier.”

Not until breakthroughs by Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Lou Rawls, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke et al, did African American male singers begin to reach wider pop music audiences. It was characteristic of Williams, however, that he never seemed to dwell on what might have been, preferring instead to concentrate upon the fullest expression of his abilities. And the result was a superb catalog of recordings, a series of compelling performances, and musical partnerships with artists ranging from George Shearing to Tony Bennett. (Nancy Wilson and Diane Schuur sang a capella in tribute to Williams at his funeral service Wednesday in Las Vegas.)

It was, as he once told this writer, “a fulfilling life.” And that’s a description that goes both ways, fulfilling for Williams, and fulfilling for his listeners, now and--via his numerous recordings--in the future.

On the Festival Front: UCLA joins the commemoration of the 100th birthday of one of the most important American creative forces of the 20th century on April 29-May 1 with the Duke Ellington Centennial Celebration. The event includes two components--a pair of concerts at Royce Hall on April 29 and 30, and a free two-day symposium on Ellington’s life and work at Schoenberg Hall on April 30 and May 1. The concerts will feature Herbie Hancock, Billy Childs, Kenny Burrell, Lalo Schifrin, former Ellington band members Bill Berry and Louis Bellson, John Clayton, Gerald Wilson and a host of other major Los Angeles musicians in far-ranging performances of Ellington’s music. The symposium includes a variety of panelists--among them Bellson, Berry, author-composer Gunther Schuller and Kenny Burrell, director of the university’s jazz studies programs--in discussions examining Ellington’s music in the context of 20th century American society. Concert information: (310) 825-2101; symposium information: (310) 206-1315.

West Coast jazz of the ‘50s will be the primary subject of Jazz West Coast II, May 26-30 at the Hyatt Newporter Resort in Newport Beach. The expansive celebration includes five days of music, panels, lunch concerts and, on May 26, a jazz celebrity golf tournament. Featured artists include Bill Perkins, Jack Montrose, Bobby Shew, Bud Shank, Harold Land, Teddy Edwards, Jack Sheldon, the Dave Pell Octet, the Lennie Niehaus Octet, the Bill Holman Big Band, and the Gerry Mulligan Tentette (directed by Holman). Ticket information: (562) 985-7072.

The Playboy Jazz Festival has added the “Zoot Suit” swing revival band the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies to this year’s festival schedule. The group, whose first album, “Zoot Suit Riot,” sold a million copies in 1998, will appear on June 12. Information: (310) 449-4070.

The Cherry Poppin’ Daddies will also be featured in an hourlong program on the AMC cable channel April 29, during an evening of musical programming that includes the 1954 feature film “The Glenn Miller Story” and two Duke Ellington shorts.

The lineup for the 42nd annual Monterey Jazz Festival has been announced. The event, the world’s longest-running jazz festival, takes place Sept. 17-19. Special events include a tribute to the Duke Ellington centennial via a performance of his “Suite Thursday,” composed for the festival in 1960, performed by the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra. In addition, the Asian American Jazz Orchestra will present its version of Ellington’s “Far East Suite.” And a new Toshiko Akiyoshi work based upon familiar Ellington themes has been commissioned by the festival; it will be performed by the Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra. Among the other numerous performers appearing on the festival’s virtually nonstop schedule of music across six stages are the Joshua Redman Band, Diana Krall, Chucho Valdes, Los Van Van, Terence Blanchard, the Manhattan Transfer, Kenny Barron, Russell Malone, and an all-star ensemble hosted by Clint Eastwood. Information: (925) 275-9255.

On Record: The reissues just keep coming, sometimes in original formats with added bonus tracks, sometimes in collections.

Two classic Charles Lloyd albums are paired in “Just Before Sunrise,” a new release from 32 Jazz featuring the 1966 studio album “Dream Weaver” and a 1967 live recording “Love-In.” The recordings, which feature a stellar ensemble that includes pianist Keith Jarrett, drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Cecil McBee or Ron McClure, have never been available on CD. . . . The new Verve Music Group is celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Decca jazz catalog with the release of a group of vocal albums recorded during the ‘40s and ‘50s: “Ella Fitzgerald--The Last Decca Years 1949-1954”; “Little Jimmy Scott--Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool” (with three previously unreleased tracks); “Mark Murphy--Crazy Rhythm: The Debut Recordings”; and “Jeri Southern--The Very Thought of You: The Decca Years 1951-57.”

Koch Jazz is continuing its Rhino/Atlantic midline reissues with six titles. Prominent items include Max Roach’s gospel-oriented album “Lift Every Voice and Sing”; the late pianist Don Pullen’s debut album as a leader, “Tomorrow’s Promises”; as well as reissues from Freddie Hubbard (“High Blues Pressure”), Randy Weston (“African Cookbook”), the Jazz Modes (“The Most Happy Fella”) and Duke Pearson (“Honeybuns”). . . . Blue Note has just issued five new titles from its ongoing Blue series. Each is a thematic compilation with selections from the Blue Note archives. Titles include “Blue Big Bands--A Swinging Affair,” “Afro Blue Vol. 2--The Roots and Rhythms,” “Blue Bossa Vol. 2--Cool Cuts From the Tropics” and “Capitol Rare--Funky Notes From the West Coast, Vols. 1 and 2.”