Tony Williams (drummer)
Tony Williams | |
|---|---|
Williams in a 1964 advertisement | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Anthony Tillmon Williams |
| Born | December 12, 1945 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Origin | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | February 23, 1997 (aged 51) Daly City, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1961–1997 |
Anthony Tillmon Williams (December 12, 1945 – February 23, 1997) was an American jazz drummer. Williams first gained fame as a member of Miles Davis' "Second Great Quintet", and later pioneered jazz fusion with Davis' group and his own combo, the Tony Williams Lifetime. In 1970, music critic Robert Christgau described him as "probably the best drummer in the world." Williams was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 1997.