Roadlife – James Williams
imple but memorable, this 16-measure blues is one of James Williams' most fun songs to play - as shown by the many recordings. Our lead sheet is based on James' original manuscript, but each version has slightly different phrasing.
- Recording: James Willams - Magical Trio 2
- Recorded on: November 23-24, 1987
- Label: EmArcy (834 368 2)
- Concert Key: B-flat
- Style: Swing (medium up)
- Piano - James Williams
- Bass - Ray Brown
- Drums - Elvin Jones
Simple and concise like many other James Williams songs, Roadlife is a particularly fun one—check out how many people have recorded it! It's a 16-measure blues with a lyrical, memorable theme. The IV chord is held for four measures instead of two, similar to Fletcher Henderson's Soft Winds and Hank Mobley's Advance Notice. Instead of going back to the tonic in the ninth measure, the changes go to a circle of fourths, starting with two measures of stop-time. The final tonic chord is delayed until the last measure, anticipated by G♭maj7 and Bmaj7; these chords are sometimes left out as in the intro choruses on this original recording: two choruses of trio "walking" without a melody or soloist.
The melody is slightly different in all recordings; our lead sheet comes from James' manuscript. On this recording the melodic rhythm in the ninth through 11th measures is a little different from the lead sheet. The pickup to the tenth measure starts on beat 4 rather than the "and" of 3; leading into the next measure the pickup is a quarter note on 4 followed by a half note on the downbeat, not anticipated as written.
The lead sheets under each album cover are identical.
The melody is slightly different in all recordings; our lead sheet comes from James' manuscript. On this recording the melodic rhythm in the ninth through 11th measures is a little different from the lead sheet. The pickup to the tenth measure starts on beat 4 rather than the "and" of 3; leading into the next measure the pickup is a quarter note on 4 followed by a half note on the downbeat, not anticipated as written.
The lead sheets under each album cover are identical.
This second "Magical Trio" album was recorded five months after the first, which features Art Blakey instead of Elvin Jones. Ten years later, the "Magical Trio 2" lineup reconvened for the DIW album "Awesome!" Ray Brown and Elvin Jones first recorded together in 1969 on two trio sessions with Phineas Newborn, Jr.—James Williams' mentor. They also appear together on a 1976 Newborn album as well as Ray's "Something For Lester" trio with Cedar Walton from 1977.
- Recording: Mulgrew Miller - Live At Yoshi's, vol. 2
- Recorded on: July 22-23, 2003
- Label: MazJazz (MXJ212)
- Concert Key: B-flat
- Style: Swing (medium up)
- Piano - Mulgrew Miller
- Bass - Derrick Hodge
- Drums - Karriem Riggins
Mulgrew Miller's trio version is slightly slower but has the same hard-swinging energy as James Williams' original recording. Mulgrew's voicings are similar to James'. He changes and embellishes a few notes of the melody—for example beat 4 in the sixth measure is B♮ instead of G for a smoother chromatic line. The phrasing of the stop-time measures is the same as James' except without the A♭ pickup to the 11th measure.
The two "Live At Yoshi's" are the only recordings of this trio, and Mulgrew Miller's last trio recordings as a leader. The previous year, Mulgrew did another pair of live trio albums at the Kennedy Center, also featuring Derrick Hodge on bass with Rodney Green on drums. Miller and Hodge also appear together on Terrell Stafford's 2003 album "New Beginnings," while Riggins appears on two Miller albums: "Getting To Know You" in 1995 and "The Sequel" in 2002.
- Recording: Jonathan Batiste - Live At Dizzy's
- Recorded on: September 23, 2011
- Label: YouTube (YT)
- Concert Key: B-flat
- Style: Swing (medium up)
- Trumpet - Josh Gawel, Kyle Athayde
- Tuba - Ibanda Ruhumbika
- Clarinet -
- Alto Sax - Eddie Barbash
- Tenor Sax - Matt Marantz
- Bari Sax - Tony Lustig
- Piano - Jonathan Batiste
- Bass -
- Drums - Joe Saylor
Video
- Jonathan Batiste and his big band explore James Williams' ROADLIFE at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola; September 23, 2011
This live large ensemble version by Jonathan Batiste is about the same tempo as the James Williams recording. Like Mulgrew Miller's, this arrangement adds a bit of embellishment to the melody. The pickups to the 9th and 10th measures both begin on beat 4. Extended solos by Batiste and tenor saxophonist Matt Marantz show just how fun this song is to play and improvise on!
Jonathan Batiste is best known as the musical director for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022. This live performance video features an expanded version of what became the Late Show Band, then known as Stay Human (Batiste, Eddie Barbash, Ibanda Ruhumbika and Joe Saylor). Several members of the band in this video were studying at Manhattan School of Music and Juilliard at the time. Trumpeter Josh Gawel is a member of the popular brass band Lucky Chops.
- Recording: Eric Reed - Everybody Gets The Blues
- Recorded on: November 6, 2018
- Label: Smoke Sessions (SSR 1902)
- Concert Key: B-flat
- Style: Swing (medium up)
- Alto Sax - Tim Green
- Piano - Eric Reed
- Bass - Mike Gurrola
- Drums - McClenty Hunter, Jr.
A quartet version close in both tempo and melody to the original James Williams recording. Pianist Eric Reed begins the head alone, with the full band coming in at the pickup to the ninth measure. The melody phrases in both the third and sixth measures are smoothed out with F♯ and B♮ on the fourth beat respectively, for smooth chromatic lines. A vamp ending is added based on the 13th and 14th measures.
The lineup on this album is almost the same as on Eric Reed's 2017 album "A Light In Darkness," which has Ben Williams on bass instead of Mike Gurrola.
Lucky Thompson's Sun Out, coming soon to jazzleadsheets.com, was also recorded by Eric Reed on his 2011 album "Something Beautiful."
Lucky Thompson's Sun Out, coming soon to jazzleadsheets.com, was also recorded by Eric Reed on his 2011 album "Something Beautiful."
- Recording: Glenn Zaleski - The Question
- Recorded on: August, 2019
- Label: Sunnyside (SSC 1591)
- Concert Key: B-flat
- Style: Swing (medium up)
- Trumpet - Adam O'Farrill
- Tenor Sax - Lucas Pino
- Piano - Glenn Zaleski
- Bass - Desmond White
- Drums - Allan Mednard
A quintet version with unison horns, this recording is quite straightforward with the same melody phrasing as the Eric Reed recording. Like James Williams' original, it starts with rhythm section choruses before the head. There is yet another ending which tags the last four measures.
Pianist Glenn Zaleski is featured in several exclusive jazzleadsheets.com videos and Minus You tracks; he's also done many transcriptions for us. "The Question" is his fourth album as a leader.
Trumpeter Adam O'Farrill was studying at Manhattan School Of Music at the same time as both trumpeters playing in the Jonathan Batiste video of this song, Josh Gawel and Kyle Athayde.
Trumpeter Adam O'Farrill was studying at Manhattan School Of Music at the same time as both trumpeters playing in the Jonathan Batiste video of this song, Josh Gawel and Kyle Athayde.
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...