Transcripts

text | pdf |

---

CHRIS ROBERTS: Irv Williams played his first paying gig on saxophone in the mid 1930s. It was in his native Arkansas. He was 15.

IRV WILLIAMS: I played at a Phillis Wheatley house for prom. And I got $0.75. And I've been making money off it ever since.

[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]

CHRIS ROBERTS: Williams came to Minnesota when he enlisted in the Navy during WW II and was stationed outside the Twin Cities. He decided to stay. Over the decades, Williams has had a lot of high profile jobs, including playing in female Jazz pioneer Mary Lou Williams' band and with Billy Eckstine. He's also led a number of Twin Cities based combos. In Williams mellow brand of straight ahead Jazz, you can hear all those years and experiences every time he blows into his saxophone.

[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]

Williams says he plays for the people, not other musicians. He doesn't indulge in the noisy, at times dissonant stampede of notes some younger, more experimental performers unleash on an audience. He likes hooks too much. He wants listeners to leave his shows humming mainly because they know many of the songs.

IRV WILLIAMS: We get a lot of requests. And it's because I'm on the band, I know so many tunes.

CHRIS ROBERTS: And you'll play them?

IRV WILLIAMS: Oh, sure. Yeah. I play Satin Doll, and I hate that. And it's getting to the point that no horn won't play it anymore even though if I ask.

[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]

CHRIS ROBERTS: Williams' nickname in local jazz circles is Mr. Smooth. Even he thinks it fits.

IRV WILLIAMS: I have a different way of phrasing--

CHRIS ROBERTS: How would you describe it?

IRV WILLIAMS: Well, I just use a lot of air and don't breathe as much as other guys do. So it's more seamless than otherwise. And I enjoy doing it.

CHRIS ROBERTS: You still like it?

IRV WILLIAMS: Yeah, but I'm not as good as I used to be. But I'm good.

CHRIS ROBERTS: While Williams may not feel his playing is as strong as it once was, Minneapolis Jazz writer Tom Sirowitz begs to differ.

TOM SIROWITZ: Ever since Irv got his hip replaced a few years back, he's been sounding terrific. He's smooth, strong, breathy. He's got that beautiful tone, especially on ballads.

CHRIS ROBERTS: Sirowitz says even at 86, Williams is not on automatic pilot. He's recording and performing new tunes and putting his stamp on older ones. He's never played before. Sirowitz thinks part of the reason Williams' sound has stayed fresh is because he deliberately seeks out adventurous piano players for his bands. He also says Williams uses his age to his advantage.

TOM SIROWITZ: Irv will say stuff like, if you want to get a CD signed, you better buy it now, right now cause I could keel over and die tonight right here. He's working the living legend Codger Angle really well. And more power to him.

[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]

GARY BERG: He's got the sound that every saxophone player would love to have.

CHRIS ROBERTS: Minneapolis saxophonist Gary Berg, who, compared to Williams as a youngster at 66, first ran into him in the early '50s on the local jazz circuit. Berg says Williams decade's long presence in the Twin Cities has been a gift to generations of musicians who've come to recognize a master in their midst.

[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]

GARY BERG: When he plays it solo, he gets right to the meat of the tune. There is nothing wasted. He plays all the right notes. And with such a beautiful sound that after hearing him play, you get to think, well, why should anybody else bother to play that? It's already been done.

[CHUCKLES]

[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]

CHRIS ROBERTS: Berg says everyone who's anyone in American Jazz knows about Williams. He believes Williams would be considerably more famous if he had lived on either of the coasts, especially New York. Williams himself has no regrets about the time he spent in Minnesota. But unfortunately, his time may be running out.

In 1982, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which after treatment, went into remission for more than 20 years. Last year, doctors discovered it had returned. Williams decided to opt out of surgery and for the last year, has been getting hormone shots as treatment. He also suffers from glaucoma. And yet he wouldn't dream of putting down his saxophone for good.

IRV WILLIAMS: I mean, why am I taking all these shots and everything? Be with my family as long as possible and to play music as long as possible. So that's what I'm going to do. When the good Lord says, well, son, that's enough, and then I'm gone.

CHRIS ROBERTS: Until then, Williams is content to stay as busy as his energy will allow. He thinks there's as many as 15 CDs worth of material waiting to come out. I'm Chris Roberts, Minnesota Public Radio News.

[JAZZ MUSIC PLAYING]