Name: An Evening with Ben Williams:
Start: 2024-12-29T20:00:00-05:00
Location: 600 14th Street NW Washington DC 20005

DOORS OPEN AT 6:30 PM | SHOW BEGINS AT 8:00 PM

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BEN WILLIAMS

BEN WILLIAMS – of Los Angeles, CA. When it comes to Black music, Washington, D.C. produces its share of game-changers. That long list includes Duke Ellington, Chuck Brown, Marvin Gaye, Shirley Horn, Roberta Flack, Bad Brains, Meshell Ndegeocello, Wale, and Oddisee. You can now add Ben Williams to that venerated DC Natives’ roster. As a sideman, Williams has performed/recorded with many giants such as George Benson, Herbie Hancock, Wynton Marsalis, David Sanborn, Dianne Reeves, Kamasi Washington, Stefon Harris, and Pharrell Williams.

For more than a decade, Williams has steadily become one of the most acclaimed and versatile bassists in Modern Jazz. In 2009, he won the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition, landing him his first record-deal with Concord Records. Thereafter, he released his first album, State of Art (2011) with his band, Sound Effect. The Album received an impressive 4.5 Star Review in Down Beat Magazine and reached #1 on the charts of iTunes and the National Billboard. He was named the 2011 iTunes Breakthrough Artist of the Year in the category of Jazz. In 2013 and 2015 he received the Down Beat Critics Poll Award as Rising Star in Bass.

Among the many outstanding accolades, Williams won his first Grammy Award with The Pat Metheny Unity Band for Best Jazz Instrumental Album (2013). In 2015, he won the Michigan State University (MSU) Alumni Award for maintaining the highest of standards in his profession and in his personal life as an MSU alumnus. Williams was the first recipient of the Congressional Black Caucus Jazz Innovator Award for his highly creative and multi-faceted contribution to Jazz and world culture. It was presented to him by the late Honorable John Conyers, Jr at the Annual Jazz Concert of the Congressional Black Caucus (2017). It was approved by the Speaker of the US House of Representatives to be entered into the Congressional Record (Sept 2017).

As a leader, Williams revealed his talents as a keen composer and bandleader on his first two albums, State of Art (2011) and Coming of Age (2015) with Concord Records. As gripping as those albums are, they don’t prepare you for Williams’ latest album, I AM A MAN. It was released February 7, 2020, on Rainbow Blonde Records, a new imprint co-owned by singer, songwriter, and kindred spirit, José James. Sonically, the new album departs grandly from the mostly acoustic instrumental settings of his previous albums. Williams imbued his love for modern R&B and hip-hop and his socio-political awareness subtly on State of Art and Coming of Age. However, on I AM A MAN, he brings them to the forefront with mesmerizing vocal-centric songs that will surely raise his profile higher in modern soul and hip-hop circles. As such, Williams received the Downbeat 2022 Critics Poll Award as Rising Star in Male Vocals.

Since then, he has served a term as a Governor in the New York Chapter of the Recording Academy (2021-2023); and is currently serving as Governor in the Los Angeles Chapter of the Recording Academy.

Aside from his musical accomplishments, Williams made his acting debut in 2016 with Don Cheadle in the movie, Miles Ahead. In2018, he co-starred in an indie short film, Like Salt, directed by Darine Hotait; and in 2018, he recorded on the Music Score for the movie,“Mr. Soul” with Music Director, Robert Glasper.
Flash forward, lookout for Williams’ next project (a film and album), “Between Church and State” that he has been inspired to do through the lenses of his I AM A MAN project. Itis expected to be released early 2025. While he purports to explore the maternal and paternal sides of his family, he discovers its rich legacy of activism from the pulpit of the Black church to the legislation from the Halls of Congress as it all connects him to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. Williams anticipates this journey to lead him on a road of self-discovery, reconciliation, and an affirmation into his own destiny

For any wheelchair or ADA needs, please contact the Box Office in advance of the performance at (202)-787-1000.
All tickets are general admission (GA). Seats cannot be reserved in advance. We recommend that you arrive early to secure your favorite seats within your section. You may hold one (1) seat for a friend arriving later. Every guest requires a ticket.