Lawrence Lowell Williams is an American record producer, composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist. He is proficient on the keyboards, saxophone, flute, and clarinet. Williams began his musical career in the 1970s, and has since established himself as a prominent figure in the music industry. He regularly toured and recorded with Al Jarreau for over 3 decades and also was a musician on Michael Jackson's albums Off The Wall, Thriller, and Bad.[1][2]
Early life
Williams was born in Kansas City, Kansas and grew up in Overland Park. He began learning the clarinet at age 8, under the influence of his father who played the saxophone.
While studying at Indiana University, he met Jerry Hey and Kim Hutchcroft, who would later become members of jazz-fusion band Seawind.
He decided to leave university and focus to work full-time with Seawind in Hawaii.[3]
A notable part of the band's sound was the "Seawind Horns" (Williams with trumpeter Jerry Hey, and sax and flute player Kim Hutchcroft).
Seawind caught the attention of drummer-producer Harvey Mason. He encouraged the group to move to Los Angeles where they quickly established a regular gig at the club The Baked Potato.[2]
Career
In LA, the band was noticed by producer and arranger Quincy Jones. This led to Williams and the other members of the Seawind Horns becoming studio musicians for Jones himself and several Jones’ productions such as George Benson, Brothers Johnson and Michael Jackson.[2]
^Murph, John (September 2004). "Al Jarreau Accentuate the Swing (interview)". JazzTimes. JazzTimes. Retrieved July 26, 2013. He knows me inside and out, Jarreau says of Williams. It was just natural for him to do the arrangements, because he knows where I've been, what I like doing, and how I am these days onstage.
