The subject of today’s sermon is our dearly departed elder, Tony Williams. Brother Tony never lost his joy of swing, nor his belief that in helping others to reach their potential, he in turn would be lifted.
From the Miles Davis Quintet to Lifetime to the last Trio, this humble jazz soul went full circle-all the while waging a quiet revolution that has forever re-defined the drummer’s role in the jazz ensemble.
Young at Heart is that last whisper, my brethren. Inspired in the circle of longtime spars pianist Mulgrew Miller and Ira Coleman on bass, TW revisited/reinvented the classics of his youth, gaining in the process what the Zen Buddhists call satori. Whether seductively re-paving “Green Dolphin Street” or cymbal-spashing/snare-tom tomming the Beatles’ fluffy “Fool on the Hill” into an tempestuous latin waltz, Young At Heart is Tony Williams’ musical spirit miraculously made flesh in 11 superlative tracks. Hallelujah.
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