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D.C. jazz bassist Ben Williams digs into his family history of activism and religion on his fourth studio album, Between Church & State, which came out Friday, May 2.
Williams was already known as one of the best young bassists in jazz – or “Black American Music” as his collaborator Nicholas Payton calls it – when he released his album I Am A Man in 2020. The album is based on Williams’ introspection about social justice and the human experience during the latter half of the last decade.
“[It was] sort of touching on these themes of the Civil Rights era and what continues to go on in this country and the world, just how I feel about it – and I communicate it through my music,” Williams explains to WAMU’s All Things Considered host Tamika Smith. “[I] really wanted to highlight the humanity of Black American culture.”
Williams also started singing on that record, a pivot for the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and Juilliard-educated musician who won the Thelonious Monk (now Herbie Hancock) jazz competition in 2009. After years of being on the road with musicians at the cutting edge of jazz’s modern fusions with soul, R&B and hip-hop, Williams brought that sound into his own music.
- Tyrone Turner, Wamu
Personnel:
Braxton Cook - saxophone
Andrew Renfroe - guitar
Brandon Coleman - piano/keyboards
Jonathan Pinson - drums
Special guest Sy Smith - vocals