Saturday 19th March 2022, 17:00 – House of Hard Bop. Eric Ineke continues his four parter about drummer Tony Williams. Today episode two with the Blue Note albums Civilization (1986) and Angel Street (1988)
Tony Williams started early. When he was 13 he was already playing professionally with saxophonist Sam Rivers, and at 16 with alto player Jackie McLean. Miles Davis recruited his while he was 17 into what became the Second Great Quintet. Breakthrough ! Williams drove things along with his barely comprehensible and complex rhythmic/metric juggling. Davis about his young drummer: “Tony Williams is a motherfucker … I don’t think there’s a drummer alive can do what Tony Williams can do…” No drummer had ever before had such an impact on a Davis-formation. He was, in Davis’ words, “the center that the group’s sound revolved around.”
In 1985 Williams formed his Hard Bop Quintet with among others Billy Pierce (sax), Wallace Roney (trumpet), Mulgrew Miller (piano), Charnett Moffett (bass) and Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone). Williams composed his own works for both albums Civilization and Angel Street . His energetic drumming drove his band members to new heights.
House of Hard Bop – a programme by Eric Ineke
