Jaded, My Tummy

Jamire Williams is my favorite jazz drummer, bar none, and I'd say he's arguably in the Top 3 of jazz drummers in America. Truly exceptional.

The first time I discovered him was on Christian Scott's Yesterday You Said Tomorrow (2010). His drumming on there, especially on album opener "K.K.P.D.," really cements together on the LP Scott's musical ideas. Williams' imaginative use of his drum kit and his myriad senses of rhythm—unorthodox syncopation, gutter boom-bap kicks, diffusive cadences, malleable fluctuations of space-time—drew me in. But what made me a fan and convinced me that he become my favorite was hearing him perform as part of pianist/composer Robert Glasper's trio. Recorded live at the Village Vanguard in December 2010, Williams sounds like art. And that is no mere trope—he is captivating. Every lick, every brush, every roll, every hi-hat tap, every strike of his calibrated snares feels like the masterful deliberation of a painter's impressionistic brush strokes, ethereal beauty in motion. I can palpably sense the three-dimensional space he's creating inside the Village Vanguard, and my mind. So, when I read this recent interview with Bandcamp where Williams states, "It’s high art to me. I look at myself as a painter on the drums," it strongly bolstered my thoughts on him.

On his Twitter timeline, he announced his latest project, /////EFFECTUAL, released earlier this month on Leaving Records via Bandcamp. It's a pure drummer's record, an avant-garde, pointillist statement of percussion. Despite my open-mindedness to new music, I am a little intimidated in how to go about digesting this record. However, I think I just have to purchase it because of my deep appreciation for him. In that Bandcamp interview, he references as an inspiration for /////EFFECTUAL a Jack DeJohnette drummer's record called Pictures. DeJohnette is quite possibly my favorite jazz drummer of all time (I go back and forth between he and Tony Williams), but I never heard of this album. I might need to cop both of these.

Please, check this dude out. It's worth the effort. Here's a few more projects that he's been a part of and dope as fuck on:

As Side Musician:
Christian Scott - Yesterday You Said Tomorrow (2010)
Christian Scott - Christian aTunde Adjuah (2012)
Kris Bowers - Heroes + Misfits (2012)
Jeff Parker - The New Breed (2016)

As Leader/Solo:
ERIMAJ - Conflict of a Man (2012)

features Corey King (trombone), Chris Turner (vocals), Jason Moran (piano/wurlitzer/rhodes), Matthew Stevens (guitar), John Ellis (tenor sax/bass clarinet), Vicente Archer (bass), Burniss Earl Travis (bass on 1 track)

/////EFFECTUAL (2016)