Tony Williams: Miles Davis’ Drumming Prodigy | Off Beat

Let’s take a look at the revolutionary contributions and unparalleled influence of Tony Williams. From his groundbreaking collaborations with jazz icon Miles Davis, the advent of jazz fusion with Tony Williams Lifetime, and the enduring legacy of one of music's most innovative drummers.
Intro: 00:00
Miles Davis Era: 00:30
Solo Career & Other Pursuits: 06:15
Technique & Philosophy: 07:43
#tonywilliams #drums #milesdavis
Music credit: Miles Beyond - Quincas Moreira
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[@OffBeatChannel]

Let me know of any other drummers or musicians you'd like to cover down below! Don't forget to like and subscribe 😁

[@slickrockcreek1]

Excellent coverage of probably my favorite drummer, thank you! Next on my list would be Elvin Jones.

[@markyd02]

I second Elvin Jones and would love to see Milford Graves, Max Roach and Billy Cobham.

[@julienfabre1330]

Thank you for this video. I'd personally love to learn more about Alphonse Mouzon!

[@stevemartin4249]

From 7:53, Tony's description of how he studied is profound. This can be applied to learning anything.

[@victorfuentes2158]

Fred- Tony Williams. Peak drumming.

[@subslack]

Wow, great video about Tony Williams. I was fortunate to see him live here in Detroit at Chene Park in the summer of '87. It was a phenomenal concert that I'll never forget. His sudden passing at such a young age was a tragic loss. RIP, Tony. Thanks so much for the awesome video.

[@user-ih7wb7uh2w]

I love the power and excitement he brought to Jazz drumming. He went beyond the syncopated rhythm on the ride cymbal and rare quiet snare beats and created jazz beats that were powerful and awesome

[@viktormuerte]

I'm guessing you couldn't showcase the version of Tony William lifetime with Allan Holdsworth because of copyright issues which is too bad. The album believe it is one of the most influential albums to musicians.

[@YOUHONGYU]

Ll

[@CheikhSamb-zb5yf]

1:31 yes ithink

[@WhizMitchell]

Yes Believe It changed my life before I became a professional musician

[@user-go3zv2qx3f]

Yes the drumming, on Fred is rare groove, one of a kind

[@RobHollanderMusic]

Out of this world drummer!

[@nylesfrench3568]

I saw Tony Williams a couple of times in my Hometown New York and it was unbelievable.

[@georgekovacic5822]

What furious playing but he has it under control - totally amazing!

[@docwill184]

Somehow I stumbled upon Cannonball, 'Trane, Miles at about age 15. Didn’t know anything at the ttime but, of, course, TW was all over those albums. Now, at age 70+, those Impulse and Blue Note recordings retain a timeless sound that take me back. '50's, '60's, '70's jazz are the giant shoulders we all stand upon..

[@mysteriousplankton]

Tony was a huge influence on me. That's when I really I hit the woodshed.

[@eddieingoldsmith4094]

seeing Tony several times was always mind blowing his feel stood out truly one of the Greats

[@dylangatenby9928]

Truly one of my favorite drummers of all time. Thanks for posting.🎉

[@bradlyscotunes9156]

I saw Tony several times in different lineups, & he was better than most of us will ever be. - from, (I'm told), a good drummer, for 62 yrs..

[@ethiopianmusicoldies599]

I remember years ago - first time I heard Miles In The Sky - I was completely blown away by the drumming. It was the first time I thought the central musician in a jazz band was the drummer

[@schizorap]

Mind blowing

[@willywit2194]

Very nice to learn about Tony Williams contributions!

[@user-sw2ob4iw1m]

One of my biggest regrets is not going to see this great man play with Shorter, Hancock and Carter at the Royal Albert Hall, Tony Williams left this realm not long after. What a player and composer he was.

[@johnned4848]

Excellent video! Still would love to hear more about his work with Public Image Ltd especially on the song " Rise".

[@percyvolnar8010]

EMERGENCY! was pretty much a 'Stoner Rock' album before the genre even existed.

[@cooperharris6992]

Awesome vid! Could you maybe start putting all of the song examples you used for the essays in the description or comments? I feel like a lot of people would like to finish the vid then check out the showcased discography.

[@jonrwert]

I don't think Tony's brilliance and influence can be over-stated, even in 2024. Especially in 2024. I remember when I was learning in high school I was anti-Tony (lol), I couldn't understand most of it and it sounded like a sloppy mess to my under-developed ears. Eventually in college, with the help of friends and colleagues giving recommendations and lots of listening, I had an epiphany. And then it's been a growing appreciation and deeper reverence ever since. He really arrived at the right time when jazz was really branching off, the influence of louder rock music had started to come to the fore, and drummers like Tony and Elvin were at the right place and time to play truly courageously. That's how I would describe his playing, courageous. So many of his "licks" went on to be commonplace not just in jazz but of course the jazz-fusion of the 70's, all those drummers coming out of that and innovating in the 80's. I hear it very much in the 90's, the drum intro to Smells Like Teen Spirit for example is like a verbatim Tony lick, but slower than he'd usually play it, lol. Even current hip-hop drummers and chops-masters of the Chris Dave era play sextuplet-based ideas integrating odd-patterns with the hands and feet that Tony was doing all the time, especially in the 70's. Many of the most renowned drummers from the 70's and on, but especially the 80's talk about how Tony is the man (Gadd, Vinnie, etc.) Could go on forever, but anyway, cool video!

[@fungus_am0nguz644]

Great comment. It is EXACTLY as you stated.

[@kenhabeeb]

Understood. I was emulating him in the1980s because it seemed like such a natural style to adapt to bop Jazz, and I really enjoyed playing that way. But one day while playing with Rob Leachman, a fine Jazz pianist in Berkeley, the relatively new bassist in our trio quit abruptly one evening. He said he could no longer deal with that Williams drumming style, which was actually a pretty radical departure from anything before it. Rob loved what I was doing, said good bye to the bassist, and wished him well. Apparently not every musician was/is comfortable with that freeform style, and I understood why a bassist not completly comfortable with his own keeping of time might feel frustrated.

[@haeuptlingaberja4927]

How Tony never played with Zappa I don't know, as it would have been amazing. One of my favorite collaborations was when he played "Are You The One?" with Jack Bruce in 1976 on John McLaughlin's Electric Guitarist album. When you listen to that "live in the studio" recording, you instantly know it's Tony Williams. Dude was absolutely unique.

[@SJF98]

That piece is phenomenal on all fronts, Tony's interpretation is spectacular!

[@woody4269]

Grt vid. Hadnt heard him talk about t "anything u play is ok" from Davis. Mustve given him so much freedom of movement. And yep....lets change it! Sub time! 🤙

[@jonathandale-cy5hw]

Great video,Mate! Keep em coming!

[@tjroy]

Omg to be at a clinic like that. Omg EMERGENCY & the box set Miles live @ the plugged nickel. 2 ABSOLUTE MUST HAVES AMAZING video. I'm from New England & my best fav teacher went to Boston to learn from ALAN DAWSON, cuz quote. He wanted to be Tony Williams 😆that's all I'ma say lol

[@Timmoyoga]

Excellent bio ! Thank you so much for all your great work.

[@markyd02]

These are excellent! Thank you! I love them!

[@andrewcharley1893]

An amazing human being.

[@jacopozanette5933]

really well put content! thank you!!!

[@Jazzzcat5150]

Wish I had gotten a chance to See him with Miles. Two Brilliant, virtuoso Musicians.

[@andcat1312]

Thanks for the effort. Now for some 5 ride practice

[@tonysmith5878]

IN LOVE WITH THE DRUMMER. ANOTHER FUNK OCTOPUS.

[@James-pl4bu]

How about a video on Christian Vander from the French prog. band Magma

[@JoryGKenneth]

Thanx!

[@2112CO]

Miles Smiles Freedom Jazz Dance is one of my favorite Tony Williams recordings.

[@nebbykoo]

Love the channel.

[@musicianscolab1863]

Thanks u very much

[@unknown6390]

You gotta check out the footage on Beat Club's channel with Tony Williams Lifetime including Jack Bruce and John McLaughlin!!

[@sethwexler6910]

when he first started with Miles at 17 he was a prodigy, but soon after he became one of the greats.

[@brianwarner308]

Hahahaha one of the most important things he learned was to hit that subscribe button made me crack up

[@okboi2513]

Great video

[@LaJinn25]

awesome video!

[@pobinr]

Good vid. But no mention of Tony's work with John Mc Laughlin & legendary guitarist Allan Holdsworth. Plus his jazz funk album joy of flying

[@someoneatemysoup7089]

Great Video Mate!

[@OffBeatChannel]

Thanks!

[@unolakoko3474]

Good channel. First time.

[@Joker-ig8im]

Great video! Liked and subbed!

[@StevenCarinci]

Tony played like a toddler. Very spontaneous and free. He even looks like one.

[@jeraldtowle2718]

Thank you for your hard work. I'm a big Williams fan. Antonio Sanchez is incredible as well. I would greatly appreciate it if you could do a video on David Weckl.

[@benimartin878]

Great 👍

[@eddierivera1860]

THATS A DRUMMER!!!!!!!!

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

Merci.

[@kevincssmith]

Maestro

[@allancerf9038]

Off Beat. Good stuff! I like a lot of Williams playing and a lot of his philosophy about playing. I will say, he was l-o-u-D at certain intervals in his career. After watching your video, I checked out tonight, the Track Foreign Intrigue and...maybe so, maybe within the volume there are nuances I'm missing (though I play). My thought is that for a composition to survive that level of volume, it had better be a pretty fantastic and or/great track. Otherwise it becomes unintentionally, just a vehicle for drum technique as in Rich vs. Roach, kind of thing. Foreign Intrigue isn't strong enough to support the volume. Maybe the period with McLaughlin was best for William's very loud period. Everyone else is loud so it fits. ** It seems Tony was a little more chill with the volume when playing with Davis in the 60's. Any way you look at it, he was a fantastic musician.

[@restlessmind5770]

That third drummer may have been Roy Haynes . ROY is from Boston while Tony was there.

[@Teabonesteak]

There was no subscribe button in William's time...

[@darkoanton5]

There's doubt that Tony Williams was a giant.

[@thecartboy1]

please make a video on akira jumbo of casiopea 🙏🙏

[@Yinde3000]

What's the name of the last live clip?

[@jusroc6353]

interesting how Tony Williams holds the drum sticks. It is the same as how Japanese Kendo experts hold the sword. Also. how Japanese influenced Judo fighters grip. Using their smaller fingers to grip and control.

[@dagostinoification]

Tony à été un des meilleur batteurs de tous les temps ...Novateur , musical, puissant , l'utilisation des deux pieds beaucoup plus avançée à l'époque ...ses formules rythmiques , sa technique prodigieuse ,son énergie ...J'ai eu la chance de rencontrer son professeur ALAN DAWSON qui m'à dit concernant TONY : "tony is magnificent " ... (de la part de >>kzbin.infohFKdry-KnQA?feature=share >>kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5iZpWlvrLeGbJI THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO ! friendships !

[@dreamland923]

2:14 lmfaooo

[@user-sw2ob4iw1m]

The great Yogi Horton is seldom mentioed nowadays, and would be a great player to cover.

[@JYPSYEYE]

“ one of the most important things William’s learned in his early years, was to hit that subscribe button” 🤡😂😂😂💯 Done ✅

[@jiyujizai]

レジェンド。🙄

[@timpenfield5]

IMPORTANT VID, UTUBE WAS CREATED FOR THIS IN MY OP

[@jamesconraadtucker]

No mention of his album "Believe It"? One if his most prominent albums. It also showcased a young gentleman by the name of Alan Holdsworth!

[@jeremyferguson4772]

While I do appreciate this video it doesn’t really get into his contribution to the fusion genre. You glossed over Emergency and didn’t even mention Turn It over. Those records also happened to feature his best drumming!

[@elliotharris9056]

Decent post..nothing great but serviceable. But to barely mention 1969 the IMPACT that " EMERGENCY" had on the whole world is ABSURD. I guess you had to be around at the time to truly understand the IMPACT of the particular record and if u weren't you really don't understand what that record did to Everybody and ANYBODY. To me ,you had to be around AT THE TIME to feel the impact. Just an opinion from someone who WAS around at the time....

[@SteveStockmalMusic]

“He learned to SMASH the subscribe button” !!! (apparently that’s why it’s not working for you, your coy ploy). Also, just a little constructive criticism for you. I can totally hear the room that you recorded this in. If you want to become a serious Podcaster, commentator, critic, documentarian, etc., I would highly recommend that you invest in at least a couple of sound panels around you, so that we just hear your voice, not the room reverberation. This is not a criticism, you’re doing a fine job… just a helpful hint for your ever expanding universe. Cheers

[@OffBeatChannel]

Appreciate the feedback, sound panels + a new microphone and definitely on my list

[@SteveStockmalMusic]

@@OffBeatChannel 😉

[@thomp9054]

​@@OffBeatChannel You can experiment with hanging blankets or some towels around you when you record. No need to spend a bunch of money. Honestly, it doesn't sound that bad at all. I think the op might just like to tell people how they think people should be doing stuff, lol. Great video!

[@SteveStockmalMusic]

@@thomp9054 That’s a great point, it’s not for visual, just sonic improvement. And I agree, many times comments are ego driven, or just plain uncool. I always try to help with practical advice, humor, respect for my fellow “trying to make something happen” friends. I studied sound, recording, mic placement, room treatment like crazy… and I like your suggestion. A few properly placed materials like blankets can make a HUGE difference. And make sure you do before and after tests to make sure you’re really hearing the difference. Ok guys have fun, and keep working your craft. 😉❤️🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

[@TiqueO6]

@@OffBeatChannel yes and it's very interesting how many "podcast" favorite Microphones like the sure SM7 have the capsule quite far back from the front end of the mc. This is a big advantage because people usually want to "eat" the mics and that just leads to boomy sound and close of popping of "p's".

[@bradlyscotunes9156]

@darkoanton5: There's doubt that yo mama was great..

[@robwest36]

Talking too muchy.

[@drumtwo4seven]

C'MON HOW CLICHE IS THIS POST PRODUCTION TRITENESS THIS VIDEO OF TONY WILLIAMS HAS BEEN AROUND FOR YEARS