The younger brother of pianist
Claude Williamson,
Stu Williamson was a fixture on West Coast jazz dates of the 1950s. He moved to Los Angeles in 1949 and spent periods playing with
Stan Kenton (1951),
Woody Herman (1952-1953), and
Kenton again (1954-1955), in addition to shorter stints with
Billy May and
Charlie Barnet. The mellow-toned
Williamson, best-known for his association with
Shelly Manne (off and on during 1954-1958), was on a countless number of sessions up until 1968 when he dropped out of the music scene. A drug addict,
Stu Williamson spent most of his last two decades struggling outside of music. ~ Scott Yanow