Featured Artist

Tony T. Williams: Planting the Seeds of Positivity

photo of Tony Williams with his autobiography, Peace in My Dreams

“It was a real education for me to play with some of the legends of Indianapolis’ jazz scene,” recalls drummer Tony Williams. They were playing “heavy duty stuff where I had to listen.” “I started off in the back scared that I would make a mistake. Eventually I got braver, they saw I could keep time, and I was out in front.” Jimmy Coe, Pookie Johnson, and David Baker were some of the greats Williams got a chance to play alongside. Baker “would come up on Fridays. We’d do something like ‘Mister Magic’ that would give me an opportunity to shine too.”

Interviewed at his apartment on Indianapolis' Indiana Avenue, the street where jazz history was made in the 1940’s and 50’s, Williams recalls how he got started as a musician. Although he’s since studied music at I.U.P.U.I., he had no formal training. “I would go to a concert and see, like Earth, Wind & Fire, and see how much the percussionist or the bass player was having fun. I would start saving money and would pick up different instruments.” Featured Artist Continued >>

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