Harold Ivory Williams

Infobox musical artist |
Name = Harold "Ivory" Williams, Jr.

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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Harold I. Williams
Alias = Harold "Ivory" Williams, Harold Williams
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Died =
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Instrument = Piano
Genre = Jazz, Jazz fusion, Funk, Soul, Electronic, Gospel
Occupation =
Years_active = 1950s - present
Label =
Associated_acts = Miles Davis, Bloodstone
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Past_members =
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Harold "Ivory" Williams, Jr. (born 1949, Tupelo, Mississippi) is an American jazz keyboardist most known for working with Miles Davis, the Rev. James Cleveland and as a member of the band Bloodstone.

Biography

Williams was named after his father, Bishop Harold I. Williams, D.D., who has been the Senior prelate of the Mount Calvary Churches Of America and International Inc. since 1972. He has one sister, Rev. Hope Ivy Mason, and is the husband to Grammy Award-winning gospel singer Shirley Caesar. Williams started playing piano at the age of 3, becoming an accomplished and sought-after pianist.

Raised in church where his grandmother, father and mother were the Pastors at one time or another, Williams was the church organist. He was often in demand all over the city, as well as up and down the East Coast. Williams appeared on the album, "The Best Of James Cleveland and the Gospel Music Workshop of America".

He was heralded by many in the late 1960s - 80's as a musical genius, electronic wizard (long before technology became the norm and was consequently revered as being ahead of his time. He played an active roll in the development of the Jazz Fusion Era introducing elements of Gospel and classical music to the mix as evidence on the Big Fun, Miles Davis album.Fact|date=July 2007

Equally proficient in jazz, gospel, and classical music, Williams is a former student of the Peabody Institute.Fact|date=July 2007

Williams has appeared as a solo artist at Carnegie Hall and has performed with Miles Davis, James Cleveland, George Duke, Sounds of Philly, Albertina Walker, Michal Urbaniak, and his wife, singer Ursula Dudziak, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and others while still a teenage prodigy.Fact|date=July 2007 Williams, on the verge of international success, was forced to stop due to a debilitating illness.Fact|date=July 2007

Gallery

elect discography

* Miles Davis - "Miles Davis: The Columbia Years 1955-1985", Columbia - synthesizer on "Thinkin' One Thing And Doin' Another"
*Miles Davis - "On the Corner" (1972), Columbia - keyboards
*MFSB - "MFSB" (1973), CBS/Sony
*Miles Davis - "Big Fun" (1974), Columbia - piano on "Ife"
*Urszula Dudziak - "Urszula" (1976), Arista
*Miles Davis/Bill Laswell - "Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969-1974" (1998)
*Miles Davis - "The Complete On the Corner Sessions" (2007), Columbia

References

*http://www.discogs.com/artist/Harold+"Ivory"+Williams
*http://www.music.com/release/urszula/1/
*http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,79146,00.html
*http://www.answers.com/topic/big-fun-jazz-album?cat=entertainment
*http://tuneup.skynetblogs.be/archive-month/2007-01
*http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?userid=ke4rR6XBXm&EAN=74646491522&ITM=1