Remembering baritonist John Williams
October 31, 1936 – April 30, 2024
A tribute to the Count Basie Orchestra’s longtime baritone-saxophonist
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John Williams passed away on April 30, 2024 at the age of 87.
He was born on Oct. 31, 1936 in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
After playing piano as a child, Williams switched to saxophone at 12 and earned a degree in music education from San Carolina State College.
Williams served in the Army and, after his discharge, was a session musician who worked with many soul and blues groups plus the Nat Pierce/Frank Capp Juggernaut and the big bands of Gerald Wilson and Louie Bellson.
From 1970 to 1975, he was the baritone saxophonist in the Count Basie Orchestra and he later had a much longer association from 1980 until his retirement in 2013, 48 years in all.
While John Williams only soloed on a rare occasion, his section work made him a very dependable and valuable musician.
There does not seem to be any film of John Williams soloing but this 2006 recording of “We’re In Love Again” by the Basie Orchestra has the baritonist in the spotlight.
-Scott Yanow
