The Boiler House Jazz Series is made possible by your voluntary financial support. Please give what you can. Any amount will be appreciated.
SUGGESTED DONATION: $20
All donations are shared equally by the ARTISTS, the MUSEUM, and DINE AID WALTHAM, a fundraising effort to support the local restaurant community
Boiler House Jazz ONLINE: Jesse Williams (bass) & Tim Ray (piano)
YOUTUBE LINK: https://youtu.be/pg7E44TMX7E
These two world-class musicians enjoy the flow of conversational improvised music and are both well versed at a wide range of genres, be it swing, blues, New Orleans funk, Latin, or Americana. This concert will be a very rare treat - you can expect them to draw from their shared background as they play a spirited and interactive set.
Jesse Williams
Jesse Williams has performed almost 10,000 shows worldwide, from CBGB’s to Montreal Jazz Fest. He has appeared on numerous award-winning records. Currently, bassist with multi-Grammy nominated North Mississippi Allstars, formerly a touring and recording member with Al Kooper, Duke Robillard, and Johnny A, among others.
Williams has backed up: Bucky Pizzarelli, Maria Muldaur, Johnnie Johnson, Ruth Brown, Jay McShann, Jimmy McGriff, John Hammond, Percy Sledge, Jay Geils, Susan Tedeschi, Charles Neville, Elan Trottman, John Sebastian, Henry Butler, Jimmy Vivino, JOSA Jazz Series (Greg Abate, Tiger Okoshi, Richie Cole, Amanda Carr), New Black Eagle Jazz Band, Julien Kasper, and others.
Two Grammy Nominations: Duke Robillard - Guitar Grooverama & Joe Louis Walker – Between a Rock and The Blues. Williams endorses: Thomastik Strings, K. Yairi, Fishman, Genzler Amplification. Teaching since 1991, currently: Berklee summer programs and Victor Wooten Bass Camp, Milton and Phillips Academies.
Tim Ray
Perhaps best known as Tony Bennett’s current pianist and musical director, Tim Ray’s wide-ranging skills as a soloist and accompanist have afforded him the opportunity to perform with legendary performers from all walks of music. Appearing on over 100 recordings to date, Tim has performed in concert with an extensive list of pop music icons, notably Aretha Franklin, Lyle Lovett, Jane Siberry, and Soul Asylum. He regularly performs with leading figures in the jazz world, among them Kurt Elling, Gary Burton, Esperanza Spalding, Phil Woods, Terri Lyne Carrington, Scott Hamilton, Dave Douglas, John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Lewis Nash and Rufus Reid; and his classical credits include solo performances and concerts with Gunther Schuller, the Boston Pops, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and the Boston Classical Orchestra. Tim’s busy schedule has included frequent tours throughout the Americas, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and has included performances at Carnegie Hall, the White House, the Kennedy Center, and the 1992 Presidential Inauguration. Tim has also performed repeatedly on “The Tonight Show” (Johnny Carson, Jay Leno), “Late Night with David Letterman,” “The Conan O’Brien Show,” “Austin City Limits,” and various other national TV and radio broadcasts. He released his first CD as a leader in 1997 - Ideas & Opinions - on Gunther Schuller’s GM Recordings label, which featured drummer Lewis Nash and bassist Rufus Reid.
His second self-led CD was released in 2003 - Tre Corda - and includes Greg Hopkins on trumpet and Eugene Friesen on cello. This “chamber jazz” trio released their next recording in 2013 - Squeaky Toy - which features original compositions and music by Bela Bartok. Tim also has a solo piano CD: On My Own, vol. 1 – New Works, a collection of original compositions and improvisations, and a 2016 jazz trio release for the Whaling City Sounds label, entitled Windows. A sought-after arranger and composer, Tim has penned numerous original works for his trio Tre Corda, for solo piano, big band, string orchestra, and an extensive body of writing for jazz trio and quartet. He is a grant recipient from the National Endowment for the Arts, and is a professor on the faculty of the Berklee College of Music. Tim was previously on the faculty of the New England Conservatory of Music, has lectured and taught improvisation at Harvard University and MIT, and also conducts workshops and clinics at colleges and high schools throughout the U.S. and Canada.
The Boiler House Jazz Series is underwritten in part by
JazzGeneration, a project of KeyedUp.org
Dine Aid Waltham is a fundraising effort led by the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation to support independent Waltham restaurants and their employees who are under extreme financial stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Inspired by a tradition of supporting causes through music, the Museum is committing its three Spring 2021 concert series to help the local restaurant community.
One third of all the funds contributed by donors and sponsors via the concerts will go to
Dine Aid Waltham.
The funds directed to Dine Aid Waltham will be split evenly between the Waltham Waiters COVID Relief GoFundMe supporting Waltham restaurant employees and the restaurants themselves.
