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All Music Guide:
Due to her being based in northern California, Jessica Williams is a bit underrated, but (on evidence of her sets for Jazz Focus and Hep) she is one of the top jazz pianists of today. Williams is a powerful virtuoso whose complete control of the keyboard, wit, solid sense of swing, and the influence of Thelonious Monk have combined to make her a particularly notable player. She started taking piano lessons when she was four and was gigging as a teenager. Williams took extensive classical lessons but also gigged with Philly Joe Jones in Philadelphia before moving to San Francisco in 1977. She was the house pianist at Keystone Korner for a time and made a few interesting recordings (some as Jessica Jennifer Williams) during the period, sometimes utilizing electronics. Although she appeared on Charlie Rouse's final record and gigged steadily, Williams was largely off record (outside of her own private Quanta label) until re-emerging in the late '80s as a brilliant solo acoustic player. She is a giant whose many dates for Jazz Focus (five of its first ten releases feature Williams) and Hep are consistently brilliant.
Wikipedia:
Jessica Williams (born March 17, 1948) is an American pianist and composer who has deep roots in jazz. She has been called "one of the top jazz pianists of today."
History
Williams was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She began her music career young, taking piano lessons at the age of four and began classical training at the Peabody Conservatory of Music when she was seven. She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during her teens and began playing with the quintet of Philly Joe Jones, the former Miles Davis drummer.
In 1977, she moved to San Francisco, California, where she played in various house bands, such as for Eddie Harris, Dexter Gordon, Tony Williams, and Stan Getz. She also became the house pianist for Keystone Korner. She recorded for Candid, Fantasy, Timeless, Concord, Jazz Focus, Hep, and MaxJazz record labels. She began her own label in 1997, called Red and Blue Recordings, on which to release her own original material. She also owns her own publishing company, JJW Music, and runs her own Internet CD mail-order business, jessicawilliams.com.
She is a three-time Grammy Award Nominee and holds a Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for composition.
She appeared at the 2004 and 2006 "Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festivals" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
