Jazzman Buster Williams has pretty much traveled the world in his illustrious career as a bass player. His U.S. gigs and tours abroad read like a world atlas, while the legendary group of musical all-stars with whom he has worked outnumbers those in the galaxy. Still, for one of the genre’s longest-performing jazz artists, a return run at Blues Alley, like the one he has been enjoying this weekend, is a booking like none other.
| Onstage |
| Buster Williams |
| Where: Blues Alley Jazz Supper Club, 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW |
| When: 8 and 10 p.m. Sunday |
| Info: $25; 202-337-4141; bluesalley.com |
“I’ve performed there many times,” Williams said. “Blues Alley is such an icon of the D.C. jazz scene. Everyone there is so respectful. It’s like coming home.”
“Home” for Williams was a nonstop gig with the bass in hand, studying under his father’s tutelage and practicing the lessons that were prepared for him.
“My father was determined [and] he always told me, ‘If you’re going to tell people you learned from me, you better be playing good,’ ” Williams remembered. “I can’t say I’m the best, but he taught me how to strive to greatness. I had to live up to his expectations and his standards.”
Performing to those expectations, Williams, over the last 30 years, has played, recorded and collaborated with jazz’s creme de la creme such as Betty Carter, Carmen McRae, Chick Corea, Branford and Wynton Marsalis, Nancy Wilson, and Miles Davis.
“Davis was an inspiration and Sarah Vaughn as well,” Williams said. “All of these people helped shape my career and my perspective on the music. I owe a great debt of gratitude to [them]; I am in awe of them.”
Williams has recorded movie and TV sound tracks, has appeared on “The Tonight Show” with both Johnny Carson and Jay Leno, and in performance with such stars as Joan Rivers, Bill Cosby, Herbie Hancock and Bobby McFerrin.
“We play what we want you to hear and hope it’s what you want to hear,” Williams said.
