I met Tony a few times in NYC, twice at a small breakfast place, just by accident. I believe it was around 1970 or 71. I spoke with him briefly, and asked him if Chuck Brown, who I was taking lessons from in California had given him any lessons, but he said no, he had not. I guess I was misinformed.
Tony's band, Lifetime, was playing at Ungano's, so I went to check them out. I had a seat about six feet from Tony's left side, and not only was the band incredibly loud in this little hard-surfaced bar, but I walked away thinking Tony was playing a different instrument than I was. I don't think I learned or understood one thing he was playing... Just simply ferocious and amazing playing!
The Tony Williams Lifetime - Ungano’s, New York, NY, July 28, 1970
Check out a rough but very exciting audience tape from the summer of 1970, capturing Tony Williams, John McLaughlin, Jack Bruce and Larry Young blowing down the house. Lifetime was an infamously loud band, and I think the raw quality of this recording really gets this aspect across. Interestingly, the show starts off with a little bit of Miles Davis’ “Right Off,” which McLaughlin had played on earlier that year. It’s strange to think that Williams was at this point a seasoned veteran, having spent several years with Miles, but hadn’t even turned 25 years old.
Tony said - It’s going to take somebody with a knowledge of the whole scene, of the past in classical, the past in jazz, the future in classical, the future in jazz, the future in rock, to put it all together, because all this stuff now is chaotic — I’m going to try.
Rick Shlosser is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music.
www.rickshlosser.com