Fourplay – James Williams
First recorded by James Williams with a quintet, this angular riff blues head works in a wide variety of settings. Our exclusive duo recording features pianist Geoff Keezer and bassist Daryl Johns; a transcription of Keezer’s solo is available.
- Recording: James Williams - Alter Ego
- Recorded on: July 19 & 20, 1984
- Label: Sunnyside (SSC 1007)
- Concert Key: C
- Style: Swing (medium up)
- Tenor Sax, Clarinet - Bill Easley
- Tenor Sax - Bill Pierce
- Piano - James Williams
- Bass - Ray Drummond
- Drums - Tony Reedus
A riff blues head in a modern post-bop style. The theme of Fourplay has an angular melodic shape based on two triads a tritone apart, giving this song a “diminished” sound. In the last four measures, the melody is particularly slippery as it winds around stepwise with irregular accents.
The melody is hardly the whole song. Piano chord hits fill in around the melody phrases, while the bass catches some of these hits and holds out longer notes between. Our piano part is also a Solo Piano Arrangement; click on Piano Corner for more details. Because these piano chords are quite harmonically active, our lead sheets show the basic chord symbols in brackets. Bassists and drummers should read the C treble clef lead sheet.
As with most of James Williams' recordings of this song, in this first version the in head is played three times. James Williams begins with a solo piano melody chorus (the Solo Piano Arrangement). The band comes in on the second chorus, with horns (two tenor saxes) in unison and bass playing longer notes and hits as written. In the third chorus the horns add two-part voicings to the last note of each riff phrase, and the bass walks. For the out head the horns play unison first over walking bass, then with the harmonies while the bass plays the written figures. Our lead sheets have footnotes explaining this format; we also have a Condensed Score for this quintet version showing the two-horn harmonies.
On the recording, Bill Easley plays tenor on the melody and switches to clarinet to trade choruses with Bill Pierce.
The melody is hardly the whole song. Piano chord hits fill in around the melody phrases, while the bass catches some of these hits and holds out longer notes between. Our piano part is also a Solo Piano Arrangement; click on Piano Corner for more details. Because these piano chords are quite harmonically active, our lead sheets show the basic chord symbols in brackets. Bassists and drummers should read the C treble clef lead sheet.
As with most of James Williams' recordings of this song, in this first version the in head is played three times. James Williams begins with a solo piano melody chorus (the Solo Piano Arrangement). The band comes in on the second chorus, with horns (two tenor saxes) in unison and bass playing longer notes and hits as written. In the third chorus the horns add two-part voicings to the last note of each riff phrase, and the bass walks. For the out head the horns play unison first over walking bass, then with the harmonies while the bass plays the written figures. Our lead sheets have footnotes explaining this format; we also have a Condensed Score for this quintet version showing the two-horn harmonies.
On the recording, Bill Easley plays tenor on the melody and switches to clarinet to trade choruses with Bill Pierce.
This original recording was the first version of Fourplay. James Williams recorded the song five times, though Clifford Jordan’s 1990 album “Four Play” (with Williams) does not include it. Check out other songs from “Alter Ego” available on jazzleadsheets.com.
Our piano part reflects the melody as played by James Williams, and also works as a Solo Piano Arrangement. On each melody riff, the left hand catches the root and fifth of the underlying chord and then fills in with rising chord structures in minor thirds. These three-note voicings are perfect fourths on top of augmented fourths; they further accentuate the diminished sound of the melody.
The last note of each right-hand melody riff phrase is harmonized with a third. James doesn't play these harmony notes on the opening chorus of the original recording, but he does in other recordings.
The last note of each right-hand melody riff phrase is harmonized with a third. James doesn't play these harmony notes on the opening chorus of the original recording, but he does in other recordings.
- Recording: James Williams - Meets The Saxophone Masters
- Recorded on: September 23, 1991
- Label: DIW (DIW-868)
- Concert Key: C
- Style: Swing (uptempo)
- Tenor Sax - Joe Henderson, George Coleman, Bill Pierce
- Piano - James Williams
- Bass - James Genus
- Drums - Tony Reedus
A three-tenor version, rather faster than the original two-tenor recording. The in and out heads have the same format as on the “Alter Ego” recording The voicings at the end of each riff (played on the third chorus of the in head and second chorus of the out head) add a third note a whole step below; for example G in the second measure is harmonized with E♭ and D♭. These are shown in our sextet Condensed Score.
This three-tenor album was one of only two recordings featuring James Williams and Joe Henderson together. A year earlier, they had played on “Kaleido Duke,” an all-star big band album recorded in Paris, directed by Ernie Wilkins. James didn't otherwise record with George Coleman, but both appear on different tracks on the 1992 all-star album "The Memphis Connection."
- Recording: Scott Reeves - Congressional Roll Call
- Recorded on: March 13, 1996
- Label: Creative Jazz (1001)
- Concert Key: C
- Style: Swing (uptempo)
- Trumpet - Bill Mobley
- Alto Flugelhorn - Scott Reeves
- Piano - James Williams
- Bass - John Lockwood
- Drums - Bob Gullotti
Another Condensed Score is available for this slightly different quintet arrangement. James Williams again sets up the melody with a solo piano chorus; this time around, he improvises after the first two melody phrases. The horns play the voicings on both in and both out melody choruses, adding one more voicing to the 6th measure. In these choruses the bass walks throughout.
Bill Mobley also recorded Fourplay in a big band setting, on his 2011 album "Live At Smoke;" the band on that recording includes Jon Gordon and Jon Davis.
Scott Reeves, primarily a trombonist, doubles on an E♭ rotary-valve alto flugelhorn for this recording. Bassist John Lockwood and the late drummer Bob Gullotti were longtime members of the Fringe Trio with saxophonist George Garzone.
Scott Reeves, primarily a trombonist, doubles on an E♭ rotary-valve alto flugelhorn for this recording. Bassist John Lockwood and the late drummer Bob Gullotti were longtime members of the Fringe Trio with saxophonist George Garzone.
- Recording: Billy Cobham - Art Of Four
- Recorded on: 2001
- Label: In & Out (IOPCD 77085)
- Concert Key: C
- Style: Swing (medium up)
- Alto Sax - Donald Harrison
- Piano - James Williams
- Bass - Ron Carter
- Drums - Billy Cobham
A quartet version with the same rhythm section arrangement as James Williams' quintet and sextet recordings. James plays the harmony notes for the riff, as shown in the piano arrangement, both in the opening solo piano melody chorus and when doubling the melody with saxophonist Donald Harrison.
This live album is the only recording James Williams and Billy Cobham played on together. "Art Of Four" is one of a series of Cobham albums also including "The Art Of Three" also recorded in 2001, and "The Art Of Five" from 2003. James and Ron Carter are on a few recordings together including the former's 1998 album "Classic Encounters."
- Recording: James Williams - Jazz Dialogues: Vol. 2 - Focus
- Recorded on: December, 2001
- Label: Finas Music (102)
- Concert Key: C
- Style: Swing (medium up)
- Guitar - Dave Stryker
- Piano - James Williams
In this duo setting there is no bass or drums to switch up the feel; the head is played only twice in and once out. The melody is doubled in octaves: piano above and guitar below; James Williams plays the same part as in the other recordings. As with the Billy Cobham quartet recording, James plays the two-note voicings for the melody riffs every time.
For another from this duo series check out For My Nephews. The only other guitarist featured with James Williams on the "Jazz Dialogues" was the late Russell Malone. In March 2001, James played on Dave Stryker's album "Blue To The Bone III" also featuring Brian Lynch.
- Recording: Geoffrey Keezer - Geoffrey Keezer - Daryl Johns Duo
- Recorded on: December 18, 2011
- Label: jazzleadsheets.com (JLS 1022)
- Concert Key: C
- Style: Swing (medium up)
- Piano - Geoffrey Keezer
- Bass - Daryl Johns
Video
- Geoffrey Keezer and Daryl Johns exploring James Williams' FOURPLAY at Rudy Van Gelder's recording studio.
A piano and bass duo version of Fourplay, passing the melody between the two instruments—advanced, but nothing the then-15-year-old bassist Daryl Johns couldn’t handle! On the first chorus, the bass plays the melody for the first eight measures, with piano melody on the last four; each instrument provides the rhythmic punctuations for the other’s melody. The second chorus has piano and bass melody in octaves, with piano voicings on the longer notes of the riff phrases. Our duo score shows this format for both in and out heads; however, on the recording the out head begins with piano melody and bass walking. The second chorus of the out head returns to the same arrangement as the second chorus of the in head.
Note that pianist Geoff Keezer anticipates the 11th measure with a left-hand chord hit, lining up with the melody; in his own performances, James Williams hits the downbeat instead here as shown in our piano part.
A transcription of Keezer’s solo is available; click on Solos for more details. For even more fun, watch the video above, showing Geoffrey and Daryl crushing it.
Note that pianist Geoff Keezer anticipates the 11th measure with a left-hand chord hit, lining up with the melody; in his own performances, James Williams hits the downbeat instead here as shown in our piano part.
A transcription of Keezer’s solo is available; click on Solos for more details. For even more fun, watch the video above, showing Geoffrey and Daryl crushing it.
For more from this session check out Geoff Keezer’s compositions Jackleg Patrol, Personal Space, and Premonition.
A transcription is available for Geoffrey Keezer’s piano solo. In six choruses, Keezer really lets his imagination run wild. He opens most of these choruses with a striking rhythmic theme, often in a close dialogue between right-hand melody and left-hand accompaniment CLIP. In the angular nature of his lines, Keezer really captures the spirit of James Williams’ original composition, especially at the end where he alludes to the end of the melody—this is a Fourplay solo, not just a blues solo.
James Williams
March 8, 1951 – July 20, 2004
James Williams' distinguished career began in the city in which he was raised: Memphis, Tennessee. Having taken up piano at the age of thirteen, he graduated from Memphis State University in the early seventies and threw himself into his city's jazz community. Only a year after attaining his degree, Williams was hired as a professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Coming to a new city opened up an entirely new scene for the young pianist, who began to play as a sideman for visiting artists like Red Norvo, Art Farmer, Sonny Stitt and Milt Jackson. When Art Blakey met him in 1977, he convinced the then-26 year-old Williams to resign from Berklee and go on tour with the Jazz Messengers, a post he held for the next four years and with whom he would win a Grammy Award nomination for the album "Straight Ahead." Read more...