A member of
Duke Ellington's trumpet section for several years in the mid- to late '40s,
Williams spent most of his career playing in big bands.
Williams played trumpet in his high school band, then with trombonist Frank Terry's Chicago Nightingales for several years in the '30s. He moved to New York in 1940 and worked with pianist
Fats Waller's big band. In the years before joining
Ellington,
Williams played with
Ella Fitzgerald,
Claude Hopkins, and
Machito, among others.
Williams played with
Ellington from 1945-1949, and again in 1951. In the '50s, he worked with Latin bands and pit orchestras. He played with
Earl Coleman from 1959-1962, then spent several more years playing Broadway shows. In the '70s,
Williams gigged and toured with
Clyde Bernhardt; he also played solo dates overseas and worked with both the Harlem Blues & Jazz Band and
Panama Francis' Savoy Sultans. ~ Chris Kelsey