Ben Williams of Los Angeles, California and a native of Washington, DC is a bassist, composer, vocalist and Grammy Award Winner.

For more than a decade, Williams has steadily become one of the most acclaimed and versatile bassists in modern jazz. He has performed and recorded as a sideman with such giants as Pat Metheny, George Benson, Stefon Harris, David Sanborn, Lauryn Hill, Robert Glasper, Maxwell, Nicholas Payton and the list goes on. However, 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). Each album received an impressive 4.5 Review in DownBeat Magazine and #1 on the charts of iTunes and the National BillBoard.

As gripping as those albums are, they don’t prepare you for Williams’ newest album, I AM A MAN released by Rainbow Blonde, a new imprint co-owned by singer, songwriter, and kindred spirit, Jose James. Sonically, the new album departs grandly from the most 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. Most recently, DownBeat Critic’s Poll named Williams as #1 Rising Star Vocalist. 

Case in point, Williams just released his first R&B project, ButterFly Black with Broadway actress, Syndee Winters. In less than a week of their video release, it had gained over 30K views and is steadily growing.