Buster Williams is an American jazz musician whose skill on the double bass made him an almost indispensable accompanist for many great artists both instrumental and vocal for several decades. He continues to perform today with his most recent recording, 'There's a Sweet, Sweet Spirit' with pianist Cyrus Chestnut plus Steve Nelson on vibraphone and Lenny White on drums, in 2017. A consistent favourite with audiences and critics alike, he performed in Birmingham in 2001 with White and pianist Geri Allen in support of their album 'Houdini'.
Born in New Jersey, he learned to play jazz as a child from his musician father and began to play gigs as a teenager. He studied at Philadelphia's Combs College of Music and performed with Jimmy Heath, Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. Singer Dakota Staton hired him for her band in 1961 and he went on to accompany other singers such as Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson. He performed with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in Europe and after a stint on the US west coast playing with the Jazz Crusaders, he moved to New York City where he played with Art Blakey, Herbie Mann and many others.
His first album as band leader came in 1975 with 'Pinnacle' and in 1979 he played with pianist Hank Jones and drummer Tony Williams as the Great Jazz Trio on the album 'Love for Sale', which was nominated for a Grammy Award as Best Jazz Instrumental Performance. He made many records with Herbie Hancock and was honoured with grants from the US National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts. In 2015, he joined saxophone player Gary Bartz, pianist White and drummer Al Foster to create a foursome of the most respected jazz artists of their time named Heads of State. Their recording 'Search for Peace' went to number 19 on Billboard's Jazz Albums Chart.
