Photo by Janette Beckman
ben williams
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 add Ben Williams to that venerated roster.
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 Competition. He’s anchored ensembles led by such giants as Pat Metheny, Stefon Harris, Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, and Mulgrew Miller. And as a leader, Williams revealed his talents as a keen composer and bandleader on his first two Concord Records albums – State of Art (2011) and Coming of Age (2015).
As gripping as those albums are, they don’t prepare you for Williams’ newest album, I AM A MAN, set to release on February 7th by Rainbow Blonde Records, a new record label 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. But on I AM A MAN, he brings them to the fore with mesmerizing vocal-centric songs that will surely raise his profile higher in modern soul and rap circles.
With the help from sound engineer Brian Bender, I AM A MAN boasts a humid and hazy sound that recalls Soulaquarian albums released by The Roots, Erykah Badu, Bilal, D’Angelo, Common, and Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor. “I wanted to make this not just a musical statement, but sonically, I wanted to dig into a different sound. We had the opportunity to work in the studio to craft some sounds. What you hear is Brian’s brilliance with engineering. I wanted this record to deal with the past, present, and future,” Williams says.
In addition to playing electric and acoustic bass, Williams sings leads on almost all the songs. Joining him is a stellar lineup, comprised of keyboardist Kris Bowers, guitarist David Rosenthal, tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist Marcus Strickland, percussionist Bendji Allonce, trumpeter Kenyon Harrold, flutist Anne Drummond, and drummer Jamire Williams and Justin Brown. On some cuts, Williams complements the music with a string quartet, consisting of cellist Justina Sullivan, violist Celia Hatton, and violinists Maria Im and Chiara Fasi. Sharing vocal duties are the splendid special guests – Kendra Foster, Muhsinah, Wes Felton, and Niles.
I AM A MAN’s title references Memphis’ historic 1968 sanitation-workers strike, of which many of the African American men marched through the streets with picket signs with the words, “I am a Man” in arresting, boldface type. Photographs of that march appeared in Ava DuVernay’s award-winning documentary, 13th, which explored the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. “I’ve seen those iconic photos before, but for some reason, after watching 13th, they stuck in my head. The image of this long line of men, holding the picket signs, all saying the same thing – there’s something powerful about seeing this message over and over again,” Williams explains, before saying that the messaging reminded him of how we use hashtags today to help ignite activism such as Black Lives Matter and MeToo movements.
Williams acknowledges that the current socio-political climate has inspired many of his contemporaries to create protest music. But he wanted to do it differently. “I wanted to do it that wasn’t just coming from a place of anger,” he explains. “Instead of just lashing out, I wanted to turn the mirror on us and show the world the complexity of our humanity as black American men. I wanted to discuss how we process our daily lives – mentally and spiritually. I wanted to deal with issues from a more personal approach. There are certain things that we deal with that are just unique to our experience. I wanted to talk about it.”
I AM A MAN begins with a powerful, “Intro” on which Williams’ sings “You pay the cost to be the boss” inside a dirge-like hip-hop groove, graced with cinematic synths and suspenseful piano accompaniment. The melancholy conveyed on “Intro” sets the pace for the album as it proceeds with the haunting “If You Hear Me,” an afrobeat-tinged R&B steeper that lyrically takes on the characteristics of a love song, thanks to Williams’ soulful pleas and deceptive verses.
“Basically, ‘If You Hear Me’ deals with the doubtfulness of spirituality,” Williams explains. “It comes from the perspective of someone talking to God about his faith while looking at his life and surroundings and not seeing any divine blessings. It’s real talk about trying to keep the faith while not seeing the great outcomes.”
I AM A MAN continues with the strutting cut, “March On” and phantasmagorical “Promised Land” before it reaches “High Road,” another sublime soul tune that initially sounds like an amorous ballad. Instead, the song touches on addiction and how some people unhealthily cope with enduring stress.
“Obviously, addiction is not race specific. But there are very specific things that black American men experience that can lead us to self-medicating,” Williams argues. “I wrote ‘High Road’ as if I was describing this dysfunctional relationship. Some people find themselves in relationships with things, and other people that they know aren’t good for them. But that thing makes them feel better. At the root of it, I think, is a basic need to be loved, or at least, have that feeling of being loved.” Williams drives home that need to feel loved on the transfixing, “High Road, Part 2,” on which he incorporates the chorus of Al Green’s soul classic, “Love and Happiness.”
I AM A MAN also includes the feisty “Take It From Me,” on which Williams sings from the perspective of a person weary of explaining the hardship of the black American experience to naysayers; the rock-influenced “Come Home,” which explores the enduring concerns of families regarding the safety of their black male family members; “The Death of Emmett Till,” a touching ode to the 14-year-old black kid, who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after being falsely accused of making a sexual pass at a white woman; and “We Shall Overcome,” a stirring meditative ballad, which concludes the album.
The impetus of I AM A MAN occurred in 2017, when Williams performed with his Sound Effect ensemble at the 32nd annual Congressional Black Caucus in Washington, D.C. The band showcased a string quartet and jazz singer Jazzmeia Horn on a project Williams billed, “The Protest Anthology.” A lot of Williams’ original compositions, though, were instrumentals. “I had these very specific things that I wanted to say,” Williams recalls. “But it wasn’t translating all the way just through the instrumentals. So, I started taking more of a song approach to these tunes. I’ve done that in the past with collaborations with other vocalists and songwriters. But this time, I wanted to take it upon myself and sit down and write these songs.”
Once Williams created a demo of the tunes with him singing, he played them for José James. Williams originally intended to recruit various guest vocalists to handle all the lead singing, but James encouraged Williams to sing them. “At this point, the intention was still making half of the album instrumentals. But my direction was leaning heavier toward the songwriting side. And that direction took over,” he explains.
“My music has never really been just about the bass,” Williams asserts. “It’s pretty clear on I AM A MAN. There’s only one bass solo toward the end. This is definitely not about Ben Williams, the bass player. This is about some heavy socio-political and personal topics that I want to talk about. I’m trying to do it the best, most soulful way that I can.”
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