Jazz artist and D.C. native Ben Williams is an original. He’s also a natural bass player. Audiences will see and hear him in action Friday and Saturday nights as he and his quintet perform cuts from his new CD. “State of Art,” just released this past Tuesday, marks Williams’ first album as a leader. His story before that day is an extraordinary one founded on coincidence and a preteen choice.

“I always wanted to be a rock star, a guitar player,” Williams recalled of his junior high school days. “My middle school offered a string class, where I figured I could learn guitar.