Minneapolis » Calendar » Irv Williams - Mr. Smooth at Jazz Central Studios

Irv Williams - Mr. Smooth at Jazz Central Studios

Courtesy of Jazz Central Studios | Posted on February 6, 2015

Where

Jazz Central Studios
407 Central Avenue Southeast
Minneapolis, MN
Map
(612) 729-1799

When

Mon, February 23, 2015
8:30 pm

At Door

$10

Musicians

About

Raised in Cincinnati and Little Rock, Williams started out on violin, switched to clarinet at age 11 to counter the effects of bronchitis, and soon moved on to saxophone. Early in his career, he played in bands behind Ella Fitzgerald, Fletcher Henderson, Mary Lou Williams, and Billy Eckstine at such venues as the Apollo Theater and the Howard Theater. Irv first performed in the Twin Cities as a clarinet and sax player with the Navy during Word War II. Turning down invitations to play with Count Basie and Duke Ellington, he stayed in the Twin Cities where he taught in the St Paul Public Schools and played with the late Reginald Buckner. And here at home, Williams has played at every jazz venue, past and present, including the old Flame Bar where he was often back to back with such stars as Sarah Vaughn, Dizzy Gillespie, and Johnny Hodges. The first jazz musician to have his own “Irv Williams Day” granted by the State of Minnesota (1984), he has been inducted into the Minnesota Jazz Hall of Fame and was pictured on the “Celebrate Minnesota” official state map in 1990. At the KBEM Winter Jazz Festival in 2005, Irv was one of three recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards. Throughout his seven-decade career, Williams has focused on the Great American Songbook and the tenor sax as a solo vehicle. His knowledge of the idiom is legendary and fellow musicians marvel at his ability to play any song in any key. Noted Matt Peiken (St. Paul Pioneer Press), “Veteran saxophonist Irv Williams has always been about sweetness not power, and he’s still gigging strong.”...

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