Davey Williams (musician)
Encyclopedia
Davey Williams is an American free improvisation
and avant-garde music
guitarist. In addition to his solo work, he has been noted for his membership in Curlew
and his collaborations with LaDonna Smith
.
, and studied with blues
musician Johnny Shines
from the late 1960s until 1971. Early in the 1970s Williams played in the University of Alabama
B Jazz Ensemble and the Salt & Pepper Soul Band. He also started working with LaDonna Smith
around this time, and founded a musical ensemble/recording project called Transmuseq. He toured the U.S. and Europe in 1978. Early in the 1980s he worked in a blues band called Trains in Trouble, then joined Curlew
in 1986, who released several albums on Cuneiform Records
through the 1990s.
In the 1980s he also worked with Col. Bruce Hampton and OK, Nurse, and in the early 1990s played in a punk rock
band called Fuzzy Sons. Concomitantly with Fuzzy Sons, Williams played in an improvisational three-piece called Say What!
, and worked with Jim Staley and Ikue Mori
. Williams has appeared live at some 1,500 concerts worldwide.
Williams co-founded The Improviser, a journal of experimental music, in 1981. He has also worked as a music critic for the Birmingham News and published freelance criticism elsewhere.
Free improvisation
Free improvisation or free music is improvised music without any rules beyond the logic or inclination of the musician involved. The term can refer to both a technique and as a recognizable genre in its own right....
and avant-garde music
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
guitarist. In addition to his solo work, he has been noted for his membership in Curlew
Curlew (band)
Curlew is an experimental free jazz group founded by saxophone player George Cartwright in 1979. Members of the band have included cellist Tom Cora, guitarists Davey Williams and Fred Frith, and bassist Bill Laswell.-Discography:*Curlew...
and his collaborations with LaDonna Smith
LaDonna Smith
LaDonna Smith is an American avant garde musician from Alabama . She is a violinist, violist, and pianist. Since 1974 she has been performing free improvisational music with musicians such as Davey Williams, Gunther Christmann, Anne Lebaron, Derek Bailey, Eugene Chadbourne, Misha Feigin, Michael...
.
Biography
Williams began on guitar at age 12. He played in rock bands in high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, and studied with blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician Johnny Shines
Johnny Shines
Johnny Shines was an American blues singer and guitarist. According to the music journalist Tony Russell, "Shines was that rare being, a blues artist who overcame age and rustiness to make music that stood up beside the work of his youth...
from the late 1960s until 1971. Early in the 1970s Williams played in the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
B Jazz Ensemble and the Salt & Pepper Soul Band. He also started working with LaDonna Smith
LaDonna Smith
LaDonna Smith is an American avant garde musician from Alabama . She is a violinist, violist, and pianist. Since 1974 she has been performing free improvisational music with musicians such as Davey Williams, Gunther Christmann, Anne Lebaron, Derek Bailey, Eugene Chadbourne, Misha Feigin, Michael...
around this time, and founded a musical ensemble/recording project called Transmuseq. He toured the U.S. and Europe in 1978. Early in the 1980s he worked in a blues band called Trains in Trouble, then joined Curlew
Curlew (band)
Curlew is an experimental free jazz group founded by saxophone player George Cartwright in 1979. Members of the band have included cellist Tom Cora, guitarists Davey Williams and Fred Frith, and bassist Bill Laswell.-Discography:*Curlew...
in 1986, who released several albums on Cuneiform Records
Cuneiform Records
Cuneiform Records is an independent record label based in Silver Spring, Maryland.The label releases a mixture of musical styles, including progressive jazz, modern fusion music, progressive rock, the Canterbury Scene and electronic music...
through the 1990s.
In the 1980s he also worked with Col. Bruce Hampton and OK, Nurse, and in the early 1990s played in a punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band called Fuzzy Sons. Concomitantly with Fuzzy Sons, Williams played in an improvisational three-piece called Say What!
Say What!
"Say What!" is a song written by American/Texan guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. It is the first track on his third studio album, Soul to Soul, and is noted for its extremely technical nature and heavy use of the wah-wah pedal....
, and worked with Jim Staley and Ikue Mori
Ikue Mori
, also known as Ikue Ile, is a drummer, composer, and graphic designer.-Biography:Ikue Mori was born and raised in Japan. She says she had little interest in music before hearing punk rock...
. Williams has appeared live at some 1,500 concerts worldwide.
Williams co-founded The Improviser, a journal of experimental music, in 1981. He has also worked as a music critic for the Birmingham News and published freelance criticism elsewhere.
Discography
- Trans with LaDonna Smith, Theodore Bowen, Timothy Reed, Jim Hearon, 1977
- Folk Music, LaDonna Smith, Ted Bowen, 1978
- Juwels with Anne LeBaronAnne LeBaronAlice Anne LeBaron is an United States composer and harpist.-Biography:Anne LeBaron holds a B.A. in music from the University of Alabama , an M.A. in music from the State University of New York at Stony Brook , and a D.M.A. from Columbia University...
, LaDonna Smith, 1979 - Velocity with Andrea CentazzoAndrea CentazzoAndrea Centazzo is an Italian-born American percussionist and composer of minimal music. He acquired U.S. citizenship in 2000 and lives in Los Angeles, California....
, LaDonna Smith, 1979 - Direct Waves with LaDonna Smith, 1980
- USA Tour with Andrea Centazzo, LaDonna Smith, 1980
- Alchemical Rowdies with LaDonna Smith. Pippin Barnett, Danny Finney, Paul WatsonPaul Watson (musician)Paul "Watty" Watson is an American cornetist, guitarist, and songwriter living in Richmond, Virginia. He is best known for his work with The Orthotonics, FSK, Sparklehorse, and Patrick Phelan...
, 1982 - White Earth Streak with LaDonna Smith, Gunter Christmann, Torsten Müller, 1983
- Criminal Pursuits, 1985
- Locales for Ecstasy with LaDonna Smith, Cinnie Cole, 1987
- Dix Improvisations with LaDonna Smith, 1989
- Say What! with Steve Noble, Oren Marshall, 1992
- Transmutating with Steve Noble, Oren Marshall, 1993
- Northern Dancer with Jim Staley, Ikue Mori, 1996
- Charmed, I'm Sure (Ecstatic PeaceEcstatic PeaceEcstatic Peace! is a record label based in Easthampton, Massachusetts, founded in 1981 by Sonic Youth member Thurston Moore. The premiere release was a split cassette featuring spoken word performances from Michael Gira of Swans and Lydia Lunch...
, 1997) - Texas Was Delicious (Megalon Records, 2000)
- Humdinger (Atavistic RecordsAtavistic RecordsAtavistic Records is an American rock and jazz record label based in Chicago, Illinois, known particularly for its No Wave and free jazz recordings. It has released albums by Glenn Branca, Nels Cline, Lydia Lunch, Peter Brötzmann, various Ken Vandermark projects, Pinetop Seven, Swans, Elliott...
, 2001) - Numb Right (Megalon, 2002)