Jason D. Williams – Memphis Flyer

This Wednesday, November 22nd, will mark an apotheosis of sorts for a man who, despite being raised in El Dorado (pronounced El Dor-RAY-do), Arkansas, has become an institution of Memphis music. That would be pianist and performer extraordinaire Jason D. Williams, who’s been pounding the ivories with boogie-woogie fervor here for over 40 years. Now, those decades of musical mania will culminate in Williams receiving a brass note on Beale Street, in a ceremony just before his performance at Lafayette’s Music Room, where he’ll preside over his twelfth annual “Thanksgiving Eve” show at the venue.

Arriving in Memphis in 1982, Williams quickly began a residency at Mallards in The Peabody Hotel, through which his reputation rapidly grew. Soon after, Jason D. Williams was signed to RCA Records, and later on a latter-day iteration of the Sun Records label. Williams now joins a select few honored by both the Peabody Brass Duck Feet and the Beale Street Brass Note.

Honoring the artist thus is appropriate, given his role in keeping the art of boogie woogie and rock and roll piano alive. As he told the Memphis Flyer in 2021, “You take somebody like Jerry Lee Lewis singing ‘Five foot two, eyes of blue,’ and that was a lesson on the chords of the 1800s. Or ‘Alabama Jubilee,’ or ‘Sweet Georgia Brown.’ Between him and Leon Redbone, you could just about get all the storybook you needed on how to play good ol’ chord changes. Because those songs have a lot of the changes that go through everything, not just the pounding rockabilly stuff. You listen to that stuff, or even Al Jolson, and you’ll get all the changes you need to be a great musician.”

Williams, who often composes songs on the spot, even while performing onstage, has clearly internalized The Great American Songbook and more, yet can walk listeners through all of history, even up to the modern era. “I’ll go from ragtime up to some Elton John or ‘Freebird’ or whatever,” he told the Flyer. “Whatever comes to my mind. I usually am the first one to hear what I’m doing. I’m just an audience member too. My fingers take off and I start singing, and it could just be something somebody said in the audience, and my fingers take off, and I go, ‘Okay, here I go!’”

Jason D. Williams will receive a Beale Street Brass Note and perform at Lafayette’s Music Room, with opener Susan Marshall, this Wednesday, November 22nd, at 7 p.m. Visit lafayettes.com for details.

Pounding pianist and showman Jason D. Williams has carried the torch for old school rock-and-roll for decades now, having left his native El Dorado, Arkansas for Memphis so long ago that we might as well call him a true blue Memphian. Now, his identification with the Bluff City is assured, as he will represent the city to the world during halftime at the Liberty Bowl next Tuesday, December 28th.

Another Memphis native will be featured the night before: Andy Childs will receive the Bowl’s Outstanding Achievement Award at the President’s Gala and headline the entertainment with his band Sixwire on December 27th at The Peabody at 6:30 p.m.

Yet, perhaps because he’s often associated with the oeuvre of Jerry Lee Lewis, it’s Williams who is arguably the most historically “Memphis” of practically anyone playing music today.

“Jason D. is a high-energy entertainer with his own great songs to go along with the rock-and-roll classics he puts his own special touch to such as ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and ‘Whole Lotta of Shakin Goin’ On’,” said Steve Ehrhart, Executive Director of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. “Jason D. will make this year’s halftime finale a show we’ll all remember for a long time.”

I rang Williams recently to hear his thoughts on taking the stage as the television cameras — and the world — looked on.

Memphis Flyer: Thanks for taking a minute to speak with us.

Jason D. Williams: Just take your time, I’m just sitting around here eatin’ a pickle.

Congratulations on being chosen to play the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Thank you! I think it’s quite an honor. They wanted to feature somebody that lived in Memphis, who was an international touring act, so they kinda got the best of both there. I’m very excited about playing it!

Anything out of the ordinary planned?

As far as the performance goes, I’m doing one original called ‘Going Down to Memphis.’ And then I wanted to do the Chuck Berry song, ‘Memphis.’ And then there will be 600 band members that’ll be marching to me playing. So God help ’em! And they’ll help me play ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’.’

It’s great you’re keeping that tradition of boogie woogie and rock-and-roll piano alive.

I thank you for saying that! I wonder if that music is conveyed anymore. A lot of people are doing that music, without a big name, and I’m not sure it’s conveying anymore. Even though to me, it was a storybook, a lesson. Those guys gave me a direct history lesson in Music 101. From the roots of it through the other directions it took. For instance, you take somebody like Jerry Lee Lewis singing ‘Five foot two, eyes of blue,’ and that was a lesson on the chords of the 1800’s. Or ‘Alabama Jubilee,’ or ‘Sweet Georgia Brown.’ Between him and Leon Redbone, you could just about get all the storybook you needed on how to play good ol’ chord changes. Because those songs have a lot of the changes that go through everything, not just the pounding rockabilly stuff. You listen to that stuff, or even Al Jolson, and you’ll get all the changes you need to be a great musician.

With those old songs, you can give them a rock-and-roll treatment or whatever …

You sure can! They allowed themselves the chord changes and the phrasing. Now, when Jerry and that bunch came along, they had not been interchanged at all. So when Jerry would come up and do a country version of ‘Sweet Georgia Brown,’ everybody went, ‘Wow, didn’t know that could be changed like that!’ And I don’t know a lot about what I’m talking about, because it just comes naturally to me. I don’t even know how in the world I got to where I am.

Those old standards really influenced early rock-and-roll. Like Little Richard doing ‘Beautiful Dreamer.’

That’s what I’m talking ’bout!

Do you have songs like that in your set?

Oh yeah! I’ll go from ragtime up to some Elton John or ‘Freebird’ or whatever. Whatever comes to my mind. I usually am the first one to hear what I’m doing. I’m just an audience member too. My fingers take off and I start singing, and it could just be something somebody said in the audience, and my fingers take off, and I go, ‘Okay, here I go!’

The best way to describe it is: I’m Jackson Pollack meets Joe Namath meets Vladimir Horowitz. And I sit there, just like an audience member, and I’m entertained. And if you’re not entertained as a musician, I figure nobody else is either. Not long ago I said to myself, I’m not going to go see another band that’s rehearsed. And if you look at all the people that influenced me, not one of them were these real rehearsed people.

I always say, me and the band are in the same book, a lot of times on the same paragraph, but very rarely on the same sentence. You have to let the sentence just sort of come about.

Jason D. Williams plays the halftime finale at the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, featuring Texas Tech vs. Mississippi State. It can be viewed on ESPN, Tuesday, December 28th, at 5:45 pm CST.