Athenaeum Jazz Fall 2024 Series | Ben Williams Quartet | Athenaeum Music & Arts Library
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Saturday, November 2, 2024
7:30 p.m.
The fall series opens Saturday, November 2, with the Ben Williams Quartet, featuring bassist Williams with vibraphonist Sasha Berliner, guitarist Andrew Renfroe, and drummer John Davis. Since winning the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition in 2009, Williams has made his mark as a producer, bandleader, arranger, and avidly sought-after accompanist for heavyweights in and beyond jazz, including Wynton Marsalis, Lauryn Hill, José James, and Pat Metheny (with whom he won a 2013 Grammy for the album Unity Band). As a bandleader, the Washington, D.C., native is a calmly charismatic presence whose music taps directly into the deepest wellsprings of African American culture.
With his latest album, 2020’s I Am A Man, he extended his sonic purview with his captivating, soul-steeped vocals, establishing himself as a leading force in both straight-ahead acoustic jazz contexts and electric, R & B–infused settings. The New York Times wrote, “Ben Williams has a dark, righteous sound on an upright bass, and an almost liquid mobility through the fullness of his range.” DownBeat called him “one of his generation’s finest bassists.” He is joined by rising star vibraphonist Sasha Berliner, of whom All About Jazz wrote, “Berliner is in the firmament of the here and now in modern jazz and appears likely to occupy that upper stratosphere for some time to come.”