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Eugene Bernard Williams (18 May 1918 Manhattan, New York – 5 May 1948 Manhattan, New York) was an influential jazz writer who, in 1939, co-founded Jazz Information.[1] and in 1942, co-produced Bunk Johnson.[a]
Career
[edit]Education
[edit]Williams enrolled at Columbia College, Columbia University, in 1934 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1938.[2]
In June 1938, as a second-year rising senior at Columbia, Williams was one of two recipients to win the Philolexian Prize for excellence in prose and poetry. The Philolexian Society was, at the time, one of the three oldest literary societies in America. Williams received the prose prize for his essay, "The Elements of Jazz." The other recipient, Ralph Toledano, president of the Philolexian Society, won the poetry prize for his 28-line poem, "Primavera." The judges were Jacques Barzun, instructor of history, and Howard Theodric Westbrook (1900–1944), instructor in Greek and Latin.
Columbia cohorts
[edit]Williams' contemporaries a Columbia included:
- Walter Elliott Schaap (1917–2005) (CC class of 1937), noted pioneering jazz historian.
- Ralph Gleason, in 1939 co-founded with Williams Jazz Information, and in 1967, co-founded Rolling Stone
- Barry Ulanov (CC class of 1939) was editor of Metronome Magazine from 1943 to 1955
Residence
[edit]Growing up, Eugene, with his family, from 1925 to 1930, lived at 98 Morningside Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, which is part of the Columbia University community and on the border or Harlem at West 120th Street. He was living at 615 Hudson Street, in Greenwich Village when he died.
Death
[edit]His body was cremated May 10, 1948, at Fresh Pond Crematory and Columbarium, located in Middle Village, New York.[3]
Family
[edit]Eugene's father, Joseph Williams (1879–1934), died when he was 16. His mother, Anna Freid (maiden; 1885–1940), died when he was 21. He had only one sibling, a sister, Josephine Williams (1915–1983), who had been married to Joseph Akibba Turitz (1905–1956).
Selected work
[edit]Articles
- "Omer Simeon" (Omer Simeon), by Herman Rosenberg & Eugene Williams, Vol. 2, No. 1, July 26, 1940, pps. 8–9
- "New Orleans Clarinets: 2 – Edmond Hall" (Edmond Hall), by Herman Rosenberg & Eugene Williams, Vol. 2, No. 2, August 9, 1940
- "A History of Jazz Information" (transcript), by Eugene Williams, Vol. 2, November 1941, pps. 93–101
Books (contributor)
- Jazzways, George Sigmund Rosenthal (1922–1967) & Frank Zachary (né Frank Zaharija; 1914–2015) (eds.) (© 21 January 1946; Jazzways, Cincinnati) (more than 100 photos by Skippy Adelman, Bernice Abbott, and Sargent John Marsh; 1916–2003)
- Cincinnati: Jazzways (1946); OCLC 10396118, 367353290, 839356128, 979896906
- New York: Greenberg (1946, 1947); OCLC 3501413, 21397381, 611017552
- London: Musicians Press Ltd. (1947); OCLC 654341520, 28753218, 795465371, 774482619
- (Greenberg, Publisher, founded in 1924 by Jacob Walter Greenberg; 1894–1974; & David Benjamin Greenberg; 1892–1968; sold to Chilton Book Company in 1958)
- Vol. 1: 9th of 10 articles – "New Orleans Today," by Eugene Williams & Julius "Skippy" Adelman (born around 1924) (photographer). Note: Adelman later gave up photography. Philadelphia jazz critic Nels Nelson (né Nels Robert Nelson; 1923–1996) wrote in 1985 that Adelman was among the greatest jazz photographers in the world.[4][b] In 1990, Nelson wrote that renowned jazz photographer "[Bill] Gottlieb ranks second only to the elusive Skippy Adelman in his capacity for capturing the moment."[5][6]
- Vol. 2: 9th of 16 articles – "New Orleans Today," by Eugene Williams & Julius "Skippy" Adelman (photographer)
Discography (sleeve notes)
- Bunk Johnson's Jazz Band
- Recorded October 2, 1942, New Orleans
- Musicians: Bunk Johnson (trumpet); Lawrence Marrero (banjo); Chester Zardis (double bass); George Lewis (clarinet); Albert Warner (trombone); Walter Decou (né Walter Louis Decou; 1896–1966) (piano); Edgar Mosley (drums)
- Production: Welch (album cover); Eugene Williams (recording engineer & producer); Eugene Williams (sleeve notes)
- Melodisc MLP 12–112 (re-issue)
- Pressed by Orlake Records[c]
Notes and references
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Eugene Williams (1918–1948) – see a short biographical note on Gene Williams (1918-1948) in Bill Russell's American Music (BRAM), compiled and edited by Mike Hazeldine, Jazzology Press (1993), p. l70; ISBN 0963889001; ISBN 9780963889003; OCLC 1050495610, 939852788
- ^ Nels Nelson (né Nels Robert Nelson; 1923–1996) was a jazz columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News for over 40 years. He retired from the Daily News in 1995 and passed away the following year.
- ^ Orlake Records was a label founded by Orlake, a subsidiary of plastics company Movilex Ltd. when they opened their first pressing plant in Dagenham, Essex in 1964.
References
[edit]- ^ (article title not known), Down Beat, December l5, 1940
- ^ "Degrees Conferred, Columbia College, Bachelor of Arts," Columbia University Catalogue Number For the Sessions of 1938–1939, p. 208
- ^ "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795–1949," database, FamilySearch, Eugene Williams, 5 May 1948; citing Death, Manhattan, New York, New York City Municipal Archives; FHL GS Film No. 2134085.
- ^ "Some People Sweat Better Than Others," by Nels Nelson, Philadelphia Daily News, November 22, 1985, p. 70 (accessible via Newspapers.com at www
.newspapers .com /image /186049220 - ^ "Jazz Pix," by Skippy Adelman, Popular Photography, Vol. 18, No. 6, June 1946, pps. 54–55
- ^ "Snap Judgements – Bill Gottlieb's Photos Are a History of Jazz," by Nels Nelson, Philadelphia Daily News, June 22, 1990, p. 70 (accessible via Newspapers.com at www
.newspapers .com /image /186659343