[September 02, 2011] In a state of moving forward Tweet Sep 02, 2011 (The News & Observer - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A cacophony of sound plays behind Ben Williams on a recent day; it's the sirens, the humanity, the manic energy of New York City. Yet Williams, talking by phone from Harlem, keeps the rhythm of the conversation going smoothly, sometimes pausing but never losing the thread of his thoughts. But then, that's characteristic of his job. Williams is a jazz bassist, and he'll tell you his ilk is born, not made. "You have to be a certain kind of individual to appreciate the rhythm section," he said. "We don't need the solos, the spotlight. Not to pat us all on the back, but we're the most unselfish musicians in the world. It doesn't make sense, but we enjoy what we do." That sense of enjoyment has served Williams well. After working as a sideman for pianist Jacky Terrasson and vibraphonist Stefon Harris, the 26-year-old Washington, D.C., native has moved up front with his debut CD "State of the Art." He'll perform tunes from it Sunday at the African American Cultural Arts Festival in Raleigh. The album's title comes from Williams' interpretation of where music is now. He presents a mix of the sounds he grew up with and admires, including hip-hop, R&B and classical, through a jazz prism. Williams' arrangement of Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover" turns it from '80s pop into '50s swing, and he reimagines the standard "Moonlight in Vermont" by adding electric bass. It's a collection that's modern, but the concept isn't new, Williams said. "When John Coltrane did 'My Favorite Things,' that was a pop song," he said. "It's hard to pick out what exactly jazz tradition is. The tradition is to move it forward. Tradition is what you continue to do. It's alive." Williams claimed a piece of that tradition early. He encountered his first bass at 6, but picked it up more seriously in middle school. The school offered a string class and Williams was set to learn the guitar, but when he got to the class, there weren't any. The bass looked cool, so he picked that instead. Love developed soon after. "There was something about the sound, and the way it felt, like another human being, almost," he said. "Holding it is like dancing with someone." Since then, Williams has won a slew of awards, culminating in a win at the prestigious 2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, an anointing that's the equivalent of the Van Cliburn and Tchaikovsky competitions in classical music. He also has a bachelor's in music education from Michigan State University and a master's in music from the Juilliard School. B.H. Hudson, program and music director of WNCU, N.C. Central University's jazz station, has added Williams to the station's playlist. She calls Williams a "young lion on the rise." "He's very talented and well-versed in the vocabulary of jazz," she said. "He's going to emerge with a special language all his own. That's what makes him exciting." For now, Williams continues to work on building his musical voice simply by soaking in all of New York City's vapors. "Absolutely, it's the most inspiring place on the planet," he said. "Some people say New York isn't what it used to be, in terms of the number of clubs. But relative to any place in the world, there are tons. There's music everywhere. "We push each other, elevate each other," Williams says of his musician friends. "There are a lot of jazz musicians under 35 here, doing innovative things. They're not going for one sound. I'm as inspired by my peers as I am by the masters." [email protected] or 919-829-4751 ___ (c)2011 The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) Visit The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) at www.newsobserver.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]