tony williams

went on youtube looking for a version of miles' "walkin'" and found thisun from karlsruhe, germany, 11.7.1967. miles' second classic quintet (ron carter, bs; tony williams, ds; wayne shorter, ts; herbie hancock, pno) played tunes from his repertoire like this one at several times their original velocity while cutting innovative new material like miles smiles and nefertiti in the studio. dig tony here -- always the most "alive" presence on any stage he played.



here he is in '72 with a young stanley clarke on bass and what appears to be chick corea on piano; i believe the white dude with the tenor is stan getz.



who woulda thought that tony's heart, with its perfect time, would give out when he was just 51, on 2.23.1997, following routine surgery.