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James Williams began his music career in church where his father was a local pastor south of Savannah, Georgia. He tested other instruments but settled on drums as his main interest and when his family moved to Monterey, CA, he joined the jazz band at his local high school. His playing quickly developed and he went on to Berklee College of Music in Boston.
Although he is still a young musician, he has performed at a number of major music festivals and has had the opportunity to play with many well-known musicians including Tim Blane, Wynton Marsalis, Gary Burton, Christian Scott, Patrice Rushen, Dave Koz, George Duke and vocalist Nneena Freelon. He has toured the USA, Europe and Japan including such festivals as Montreux Jazz Festival, Umbria Jazz, Vienne Jazz Festival and the Tokyo Jazz Festival.
As is often said, the drummer in a band has the ability to make everyone else in the group sound their best. And, this is definitely true of James’ playing. He is inventive and fresh, but always holds the group together solidly.
James can currently be heard on Tim Blane's latest release, Clockwork, which is available on iTunes and on Gary Burton’s latest CD release, Next Generation, which is available via most music retailers.
James exclusively uses Zildjian Cymbals and Vic Firth Drumsticks.
