April 26, 2004. - Legendary jazz violinist Claude "Fiddler" Williams died at 4:00 a.m. Sunday, April 25, 2004, at Research Medical Center in Kansas City after a prolonged bout with pneumonia.
Williams, age 96, was known for his Kansas City-style violin improvisations, as well as for his vocals and, in earlier years, his guitar playing.
Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, on February 22, 1908, he moved to Kansas City in 1928, then a
"hotbed of swing," predating the revolutionary bop sound essayed later on by Charlie Parker.
His first recordings were made in 1928 on guitar and violin Andy Kirk and the Twelve Clouds of Joy. Later, in 1936, he was hired by Count Basie for his first great orchestra. Williams soon left Basie to work as a solo artist, nationally and internationally.
It is possible that he was the last person alive to have recorded jazz prior to 1930. Williams traveled extensively from his KC home base in a career that spanned the greater part of the 20th century, and he was active well into the 21st century.
His is survived by his wife of 12 years, Blanche Williams, and his son, Michael Williams, both of Kansas City, Missouri.
A visitation and memorial jazz session is scheduled for 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Watkins Brothers Memorial Chapel, 4000 Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd (Brush Creek Blvd). A funeral service will be held Monday at St. Louis Catholic Church, 5900 Swope Parkway, with burial at Mount Moriah Cemetery, 10507 Holmes Road.
Claude "Fiddler" Williams Succumbs to Pneumonia
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Shorty Dave
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Shorty Dave
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Re: Claude "Fiddler" Williams Succumbs to Pneumoni
BTW, I think this comment is incorrect. Guitarist Larry Lucie at 95 is still alive. He recorded with Jelly Roll Morton, and I'm sure he played before 1930. I thought maybe Al Casey, too, although Allmusic says he was born in 1915, so I guess that'd make him a little to young to have recorded before 1930.Shorty Dave wrote:It is possible that he was the last person alive to have recorded jazz prior to 1930.
This one really cuts through me. If he'd died before I started swing, not much I could've done. But I heard that if you were lucky and went to the right place at the right time, you could hear him play. I was going to start haunting those places when I went home this summer. Man--my own instrument in my own town, and I didn't take advantage of it while I could.
RIP.
RIP.
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Jerry_Jelinek
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Sorry to hear about this. Another great reason to SUPPORT those musicians.kitkat wrote:....Man--my own instrument in my own town, and I didn't take advantage of it while I could....
Talking about Al Casey - I consider myself VERY fortunate to have watched him live about 4 or 5 years ago. He was part of a touring group of Harlem original musicians.
Katie, if you see Johnny Frigo coming through your town, don't miss him. A true legend from Chicago. He now plays jazz violin and is in his upper 80s. I did a fantastic interview with him a few years ago in Oct. 2000.
http://www.wkhr.org/interviews.html
He is a great story teller. He still plays regularily around Chicago with Joe Vito.
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Shorty Dave
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Yeah, that's the Harlem Blues & Jazz Band you're talking about. They still play - they've played at three dances here in NYC in the past year, and they're the Sat night band at American Lindy Hop Championships this year. This past weekend they had a lunch celebrating the 93rd bday of drummer Johnny Blowers (who still isn't the oldest member!), and the 75th bday of their manager, Al Vollmer. Those cats might be old, but they still can swing hard!Jerry_Jelinek wrote:Talking about Al Casey - I consider myself VERY fortunate to have watched him live about 4 or 5 years ago. He was part of a touring group of Harlem original musicians.
Al Casey unfortunately hasn't played for them in the past few years as he has glaucoma and from what I hear is in pretty bad shape
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AlekseyKosygin
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I didn't know there was a thread already on this, here's what I wanted to say...
He was 96 when he passed, I listened to an 1989 interview with him on WKRS NYC today on the way to work and he spoke a lot about Kansas City in the 30's and on playing in the original 1936 Basie band...he was that band's first guitarist, was on their first recordings and was the last surviving member of the original Basie band...
Here's a bio I found from allmusic...
Few great jazz musicians have enjoyed such a lengthy life and career as Claude "Fiddler" Williams, who outlasted virtually all his contemporaries and achieved his greatest successes at an advanced age. Williams began playing guitar at age ten; he was inspired to take up violin after hearing Joe Venuti play a gig near his Muskogee, OK, home. He played around Oklahoma with bassist Oscar Pettiford, among others. His first professional experience came in 1927 when he joined Terrence Holder's highly regarded territory band in Oklahoma City. Williams stayed on after Holder was ousted by his sidemen because of bad management and was replaced by bassist Andy Kirk. The band became known as the Clouds of Joy (also the Dark Clouds of Joy, 12 Clouds of Joy, Original 11 Clouds of Joy, etc.) and enjoyed a great deal of success, due in no small part to the performing and composing talents of the young pianist Mary Lou Williams. Claude Williams played on the Kirk band's first recordings, but was forced to leave around 1930 when ill health prevented him from completing a tour. Williams worked with the bands of Alphonse Trent in 1932, George E. Lee in 1933, and Chick Stevens in 1934-1935; he also played with Nat "King" Cole and his brother, bassist Eddie Cole, in Chicago during this period. Williams played guitar with Count Basie in 1936 and thus became the first guitarist to record with the band. He was replaced the next year by Freddie Green. During the late '30s and early '40s, Williams worked with the Four Shades of Rhythm in Chicago, Cleveland, and Flint, MI. Some of the more notable musicians he worked with during the '50s include pianist Jay McShann, saxophonist Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, and pianist Hank Jones. Williams settled in Kansas City once again in 1953. There he spent most of the next 20 years leading his own groups, but not making records. A gig with McShann in the early '70s led to Williams' first recordings in nearly three decades and Williams' second career was born. In the '70s and '80s, he toured with McShann and worked as a featured soloist at jazz festivals. He played in a Paris production of the musical Black and Blue and a New York date with pianist Roland Hanna and drummer Grady Tate. His star rose in the '90s; he was featured on the television program CBS News Sunday Morning and performed at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York. He also played at the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton, played international festivals, and recorded several highly acclaimed CDs. He was also the first inductee of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Entering his ninth decade, Williams was still quite active, venerated by jazz musicians and fans alike.
There's also an obituary for him in today's NY Times...
He was 96 when he passed, I listened to an 1989 interview with him on WKRS NYC today on the way to work and he spoke a lot about Kansas City in the 30's and on playing in the original 1936 Basie band...he was that band's first guitarist, was on their first recordings and was the last surviving member of the original Basie band...
Here's a bio I found from allmusic...
Few great jazz musicians have enjoyed such a lengthy life and career as Claude "Fiddler" Williams, who outlasted virtually all his contemporaries and achieved his greatest successes at an advanced age. Williams began playing guitar at age ten; he was inspired to take up violin after hearing Joe Venuti play a gig near his Muskogee, OK, home. He played around Oklahoma with bassist Oscar Pettiford, among others. His first professional experience came in 1927 when he joined Terrence Holder's highly regarded territory band in Oklahoma City. Williams stayed on after Holder was ousted by his sidemen because of bad management and was replaced by bassist Andy Kirk. The band became known as the Clouds of Joy (also the Dark Clouds of Joy, 12 Clouds of Joy, Original 11 Clouds of Joy, etc.) and enjoyed a great deal of success, due in no small part to the performing and composing talents of the young pianist Mary Lou Williams. Claude Williams played on the Kirk band's first recordings, but was forced to leave around 1930 when ill health prevented him from completing a tour. Williams worked with the bands of Alphonse Trent in 1932, George E. Lee in 1933, and Chick Stevens in 1934-1935; he also played with Nat "King" Cole and his brother, bassist Eddie Cole, in Chicago during this period. Williams played guitar with Count Basie in 1936 and thus became the first guitarist to record with the band. He was replaced the next year by Freddie Green. During the late '30s and early '40s, Williams worked with the Four Shades of Rhythm in Chicago, Cleveland, and Flint, MI. Some of the more notable musicians he worked with during the '50s include pianist Jay McShann, saxophonist Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, and pianist Hank Jones. Williams settled in Kansas City once again in 1953. There he spent most of the next 20 years leading his own groups, but not making records. A gig with McShann in the early '70s led to Williams' first recordings in nearly three decades and Williams' second career was born. In the '70s and '80s, he toured with McShann and worked as a featured soloist at jazz festivals. He played in a Paris production of the musical Black and Blue and a New York date with pianist Roland Hanna and drummer Grady Tate. His star rose in the '90s; he was featured on the television program CBS News Sunday Morning and performed at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center in New York. He also played at the first inauguration of President Bill Clinton, played international festivals, and recorded several highly acclaimed CDs. He was also the first inductee of the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Entering his ninth decade, Williams was still quite active, venerated by jazz musicians and fans alike.
There's also an obituary for him in today's NY Times...