CLARENCE WILLIAMS AND HIS ORCHESTRA

Biography

Clarence Williams was born on October 8, 1893 (or October 6, 1898 per some sources), in Plaquemine, Louisiana. He ran away from home at age 12 to join Billy Kersands' Traveling Minstrel Show, gaining early exposure to performance. By his early teens, he migrated to New Orleans, working as a pianist in Storyville's honky-tonks and composing tunes by 1913. A savvy entrepreneur, he managed entertainment venues, started a music publishing business with violinist Armand J. Piron in 1915—which became the leading African-American owned publisher—and later partnered with Spencer Williams, copyrighting hits like 'Royal Garden Blues' and 'None of My Jelly Roll'. He toured with W.C. Handy, set up offices in Chicago, and settled in New York by the early 1920s.[1][2][3][5][9]

In New York, Williams became a pivotal figure in the Harlem Renaissance as a pianist, vocalist, bandleader, and A&R man for Okeh Records' race series, recruiting artists and leading studio groups like Clarence Williams' Blue Five and the Red Onion Jazz Babies. These 1924 sessions famously united Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet in their only pre-1940s recordings together, pioneering significant recorded jazz solos on tracks like 'Wild Cat Blues'. He recorded prolifically through the 1920s and 1930s for Okeh, Columbia, and others, often with washboard bands resisting swing trends, and even formed a 'Swing Band' for radio in 1937 playing hot jazz spirituals. His style blended ragtime, blues, and early jazz, with a cheerful singing voice and jug blowing.[1][2][3]

Williams gradually faded during the Swing era but left a lasting legacy as a composer of dozens of standards, publisher, and connector of New Orleans talent to national audiences. He continued business ventures into later years, dying on November 6, 1965, in Queens, New York.[1][2][4]

Fun Facts

• Williams claimed strong influence from ragtime legend Tony Jackson in Storyville and even started a dry-cleaning business for stylish piano teachers in New Orleans.
• His 1923-1924 Blue Five recordings with Armstrong and Bechet feature arguably the first significant recorded horn solos in jazz history on 'Wild Cat Blues' and 'Kansas City Man Blues'.
• During 1929-1937, he bucked Depression and swing trends by recording with washboard-tuba bands and hot jazz spirituals for radio.
• By the 1920s, his publishing firm was the top African-American owned music publisher in the U.S.

Members

• Esther Bigeou
• Jimmy McLin
• Clarence Williams - eponymous, original, piano

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Tony Jackson - Influential ragtime pianist in Storyville who strongly shaped Williams' piano style (Inspired by Jackson's compositions like 'Pretty Baby') [1910s]
• Billy Kersands - Minstrel show leader; Williams ran away at 12 to join his traveling show for early performance training (Billy Kersands' Traveling Minstrel Show) [c. 1905]

Key Collaborators

• Louis Armstrong - Cornetist in studio bands (Red Onion Jazz Babies, Clarence Williams' Blue Five (1924 recordings)) [1924]
• Sidney Bechet - Soprano saxophonist in studio bands and early New Orleans performances (Clarence Williams' Blue Five ('Wild Cat Blues', 'Kansas City Man Blues', 1923-1924); early Storyville gigs) [1910s-1924]
• Armand J. Piron - Violinist/bandleader; co-founded music publishing business (Williams & Piron publishing (1915 onward)) [1915-1920s]
• Spencer Williams - Publisher-writer partner (no relation); co-copyrighted hits ('Royal Garden Blues', 'None of My Jelly Roll' (1919 partnership)) [1919-1920s]
• Eva Taylor - Vocalist on blues recording dates (1923 blues sessions) [1923]

Artists Influenced

• James P. Johnson - Shared recording sessions; mutual influence in Harlem stride and blues piano circles ('I've Found a New Baby', 'How Could I Be Blue' (1930)) [1930]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz

Tags: #jazz