Jessica Williams

Jessica Jennifer Williams (March 17, 1948 – March 10, 2022) was an American jazz pianist and composer.

Early life Williams was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 17, 1948. She started playing the piano at age four, began music lessons with a private teacher at five, and at age seven was enrolled into the Peabody Preparatory. She studied classical music and ear training with Richard Aitken and George Bellows at the Peabody Conservatory of Music.

According to her own words, "I was just a problem when it came to authority" and this carried over to her professional life as she developed her own style of playing, as heard on her version of "Getting Sentimental Over You", where she would strum the strings inside the piano itself, a clear way for her to break convention.

Musical career In June 1976, Williams began performing regularly with the "Philly Joe" Jones band in New Jersey, and with Lex Humphries in Philadelphia and New York City, before moving to the West Coast in October 1976.

In 1977, Williams moved to San Francisco, where she played in house bands at the Keystone Korner. She worked with Eddie Harris, Tony Williams, Stan Getz, Bobby Hutcherson, and Charlie Haden,

Personal life Williams was transgender and had gender-affirming surgery at 28 years old. In 2012, Williams had a spinal fusion with internal instrumentation at Swedish Hospital's Neurosurgery Unit in Seattle, Washington, and due to the medical procedures and recovery being lengthy, complicated and expensive, she ended up having to sell her beloved Yamaha piano. She lived with her husband Duncan Atherton in the Pacific Northwest, and no longer toured. She continued to make new music, including electronic music and neoclassical music, and remained a lifelong advocate of civil rights.

Death Williams died on March 10, 2022, at age 73. Shortly thereafter, her husband opened a now closed Go Fund Me page to recover from the funerary and medical expenses.

Awards and honors

Grammy nomination, Nothin' But the Truth, 1986 Grammy nomination, Live at Yoshi's, Vol. 1, 2004 Grant, National Endowment for the Arts Grant, Rockefeller Foundation, 1989 Grant, Alice B. Toklas Grant for Women Composers, 1992 Guggenheim Fellowship, 1995 Keys to the City, Sacramento, California Keys to the City, San Mateo, California Artist of the Year, Santa Cruz County, California, 2002 Jazz Record of the Year, Jazz Journal International Reader's Poll

Selected discography 1976 Portal of Antrim (Adelphi) 1978 Portraits (Adelphi) 1979 Orgonomic Music (Clean Cuts) 1980 Rivers of Memory (Clean Cuts) 1982 Update featuring Eddie Harris (Clean Cuts) 1986 Nothin' But the Truth (BlackHawk) 1990 And Then, There's This (Timeless) 1992 Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 21 (Concord Jazz) 1993 Next Step (Hep) 1993 Arrival (Jazz Focus) 1994 Momentum featuring Dick Berk and Jeff Johnson (Jazz Focus) 1994 Song That I Heard (Hep) 1994 In the Pocket (Hep) 1994 Encounters featuring Leroy Vinnegar (Jazz Focus) 1995 Inventions (Jazz Focus) 1995 Joy featuring Hadley Caliman (Jazz Focus) 1995 Intuition (Jazz Focus) 1996 Gratitude (Candid) 1996 Jessica's Blues featuring Jay Thomas, Mel Brown and Dave Captein (Jazz Focus) 1996 Victoria Concert (Jazz Focus) 1997 Higher Standards (Candid) 1998 Encounters, Vol. 2 featuring Leroy Vinnegar (Jazz Focus) 1998 Joyful Sorrow: A Solo Tribute to Bill Evans (BlackHawk) 1999 In the Key of Monk (Jazz Focus) 1999 Ain't Misbehavin' (Candid) 2000 Jazz in the Afternoon (Candid) 2000 Blue Fire (Jazz Focus) 2001 I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart (Hep) 2001 Some Ballads, Some Blues (Jazz Focus) 2002 This Side Up featuring Victor Lewis and Ray Drummond (Maxjazz) 2003 All Alone (Maxjazz) 2004 Live at Yoshi's, Vol. 1 featuring Victor Lewis and Ray Drummond (Maxjazz) 2004 The Real Deal (Hep) 2005 Live at Yoshi's, Vol. 2 featuring Victor Lewis and Ray Drummond (Maxjazz) 2006 Billy's Theme: A Tribute to Dr. Billy Taylor (Origin) 2007 Unity (Red and Blue) 2008 Songs for a New Century (Origin) 2009 The Art of the Piano (Origin) 2010 Touch (Origin) 2011 Freedom Trane (Origin) 2012 Songs of Earth (Origin) 2014 With Love (Origin) 2025 Blue Abstraction: Prepared Piano Project 1985–1987 (Pre-Echo Press)

With Charlie Rouse Epistrophy (Landmark, 1989)