Rudy Williams (saxophonist)
Rudy Williams (September 21, 1909[1] – August 30, 1954)[2] was an American jazz alto saxophonist.[3]
He was born in Newark, New Jersey, United States.[1] His birth year has been cited as 1917[2] and 1919, among others. Nicknamed 'Looney',[4] Williams started on saxophone at age twelve, and concentrated on alto, though he was also capable on baritone and tenor sax. He became a member of the Savoy Sultans in 1937 and recorded frequently with the group.[1] In the 1940s, he played with Hot Lips Page, Luis Russell, Chris Columbus, and John Kirby, and led his own bands in Boston and New York City later in the decade.[1] He played with Tadd Dameron in 1948, and after more time as a bandleader in Boston in the early 1950s, he played with Illinois Jacquet and Gene Ammons in California.[1] As a member of Oscar Pettiford's band, he toured East Asia in the 1950s.[1]
Williams also recorded with Howard McGhee, Dud Bascomb, Don Byas, Babs Gonzales, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Eddie Vinson, Bennie Green, and Johnny Hodges.[1] He never recorded as a bandleader. After his death, Charles Mingus wrote a memorial piece, "Eulogy for Rudy Williams", then recorded it for Savoy. The liner notes of the Savoy album state Williams died by drowning in 1954, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.[2]
Discography
As sideman
- Charlie Christian, After Hours (Vogue, 1982)
- Al Cooper, Jump Steady (Affinity, 1983)
- Tadd Dameron, The Tadd Dameron Band (Jazzland, 1962)
- Johnny Hodges, The Blues (Norgran, 1955)
- J. J. Johnson, Howard McGhee, Oscar Pettiford, Jazz South Pacific (Regent, 1956)
- Fats Navarro, Fats Navarro Featured With The Tadd Dameron Quintet (Jazzland, 1961)
References
- Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 2698. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- "Rudy Williams Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- Feather, Leonard; Gitler, Ira (2007). The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz. Oxford University Press. p. 699. ISBN 978-0-19-507418-5.
- Rye, Howard (2001). "Williams, Rudy". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.