History

Williams was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She began her music career young, taking piano lessons at the age of four and began classical training at the Peabody Conservatory of Music when she was seven. She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during her teens and began playing with the quintet of Philly Joe Jones, the former Miles Davis drummer.

In 1977, she moved to San Francisco, California, where she played in various house bands, such as for Eddie Harris, Dexter Gordon, Tony Williams, and Stan Getz. She also became the house pianist for Keystone Korner. She recorded for Candid, Fantasy, Timeless, Concord, Jazz Focus, Hep, and MaxJazz record labels. She began her own label in 1997, called Red and Blue Recordings, on which to release her own original material. She also owns her own publishing company, JJW Music, and runs her own Internet CD mail-order business, jessicawilliams.com.

She is a three-time Grammy Award Nominee and holds a Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for composition.

She appeared at the 2004 and 2006 "Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festivals" at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Recognition

• Grammy nominations:
  • Nothin' But the Truth — 1986
  • Live At Yoshi's, Vol. 1 — 2004
• National Endowment for the Arts grants — 1984, 1988
• Rockefeller Grant (composing) — 1989
• Alice B. Toklas Grant for Women Composers — 1992
• John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship — 1995
• Presented the keys to the city of Sacramento, California.
• Four grants from the Sacramento Arts Commission.
• Presented the Keys to the City of San Mateo, California.
• Artist of the Year in Santa Cruz County — 2002
• Jazz Record of the Year for two consecutive years in the Jazz Journal International Reader's Poll.
• Billboard Magazine charting:
  • This Side Up — Top Jazz Albums, peak No. 24, 2002

Selected discography

• 1976 Portal of Antrim — Adelphi
• 1978 Portraits — Adelphi
• 1979 Orgonomic Music — Clean Cuts
• 1980 Rivers of Memory — Clean Cuts
• 1982 Update (Jessica Williams album) — Clean Cuts
• 1986 Nothin' But the Truth — BlackHawk
• 1990 And Then, There's This — Timeless
• 1992 Live at Maybeck Recital Hall, Vol. 21 — Concord Jazz
• 1993 Next Step — Hep
• 1993 Arrival — Jazz Focus
• 1994 Momentum — Jazz Focus
• 1994 Song That I Heard — HEP
• 1994 In the Pocket — Hep
• 1994 Encounters — Jazz Focus
• 1995 Inventions — Jazz Focus
• 1995 Joy — Jazz Focus
• 1995 Intuition — Jazz Focus
• 1996 Gratitude — Candid
• 1996 Jessica's Blues — Jazz Focus
• 1996 Victoria Concert — Jazz Focus
• 1997 Higher Standards — Candid
• 1998 Encounters, Vol. 2 — Jazz Focus
• 1998 Joyful Sorrow: A Solo Tribute to Bill Evans — BlackHawk
• 1999 In the Key of Monk — Jazz Focus
• 1999 Ain't Misbehavin' — Candid
• 2000 Jazz in the Afternoon — Candid
• 2000 Blue Fire — Jazz Focus
• 2001 I Let a Song Go out of My Heart — Hep
• 2001 Some Ballads, Some Blues — Jazz Focus
• 2002 This Side Up — MAXJAZZ
• 2003 All Alone — MAXJAZZ
• 2004 Live At Yoshi's, Vol. 1 — MAXJAZZ
• 2004 The Real Deal (Jessica Williams album) — Hep Jazz
• 2005 Live at Yoshi's, Vol. 2 — MAXJAZZ
• 2006 Billy's Theme: A Tribute to Dr. Billy Taylor — Origin Arts
• 2008 Songs for a New Century — Origin Arts
• 2009 The Art of the Piano — Origin Arts
• 2010 Touch — Origin Arts
• 2011 Freedom Trane — Origin Arts
• 2012 Songs of Earth — Origin Arts
• 2014 With Love — Origin Arts

[ Source: Wikipedia ]