After Hours - Music

After Listening To The Brilliant And Breezy After Hours CD By Jamie WilliamS You'd Think Jamie Was Born Playing Sax. You Can Picture His Parents Finding Baby Jamie Standing In His Crib Wailing Soulful Tunes On A Toy Saxophone To A Rapt Audience Of Stuffed Animals.
"Not So " Laughs Jamie. "When I First Got Started On The Sax I Was The Worst Guy In The School Band."
Jamie Had Always Loved Music So When He Was 11 Years Old His Parents Had Him Try Violin. A Week Later Jamie's Only Interest In The Screechy Contraption Was Using It For A Tennis Racket. "Why Don't You Try Saxophone?" Encouraged His Mother Adding With A Wink "The Girls Will Love Ya!" That Sounded Like Sage Advice To Shy Young Jamie So He Gave It A Shot. Within A Year Jamie Had Skyrocketed To Become Last Chair Saxophone In His Junior High Band In Richardson Texas.
But Jamie's Parents Didn't Give Up. They Bought Him Records Of Great Players Like Stan Getz And Charlie Parker And The Inspiration Took Root. Jamie Started Working Hard On The Saxophone Rocking Along With Records And Radio. In 7th Grade Jamie Heard The Hall & Oates Hit 'Maneater' Featuring Charlie DeChant Playing A Catchy Sax Part And Jamie Longed To Play It Just Like That. Little Did Jamie Know That Years Later Charlie Would Be A Guest Player On The 'S.O.S.' Track Of Jamie's First CD After Hours.
Jamie Hoped He Could Be Part Of The Horn Section For A Band Like Earth Wind & Fire Or Huey Lewis And The News. In High School Jamie's Best Friend Coaxed Him To Go See A Sax Player Named David Sanborn. That Show Blew Jamie Away. The Vision Hit Like A Comet This Was What Jamie Wanted To Do. He Could Be Leading His Own Band Making His Own Music Pouring Out His Soul As People Soaked Up The Sound. The Dream Came Alive That Night.
Jamie Began Practicing Like A Madman Up To 8 Hours Per Day. He Even Stayed Home From Movies And Parties With His Friends Playing Until His Fingers Ached And His Lips Were Numb. He Took Private Lessons. He Jammed With The Best Musicians He Could Find Including His Friend Roy Hargrove A Budding Jazz Trumpeter At The Dallas Arts Magnet School. By Jamie's Senior Year All His Work Paid Off. Jamie WilliamS Was Named The #1 Jazz Saxophonist Of 1989 In The Texas Statewide Competition - A Doubly Impressive Feat As His School Had No Jazz Training.
Boston's Berklee School Of Music Offered Jamie A Scholarship But Not As Much As Jamie Needed. The University Of Miami Had Also Noticed Jamie And Asked Him To Send An Audition Tape. "I Didn't Have The Money For A Fancy Studio Demo Like Most Kids Sent In " Said Jamie. "So I Plunked My Jambox On Top Of Our Old TV Popped In A Cassette Put On A Record And Played With It. That Little Cassette Got Me A Full Ride Scholarship."
At The University Of Miami Jamie Made First Chair Saxophone. Ronald Miller A Veteran Jazz Professor There Said That Besides Jamie's Vast Jazz Knowledge Jamie Was One Of The Most Emotional Players He Had Ever Seen. While Still In School Jamie Played Concerts With Miami Sound Machine Jon Secada And In A Personal Highlight For Jamie David Sanborn's Own Guitarist Hiram Bullock.
Jamie Approached His 1993 Senior Recital With His Typical Artistic Flair. "This Is Miami. This Is Jazz. This Isn't Meant For Empty Seats In A Dull Auditorium. Let's Take It Outside " Jamie Said. That Had Never Been Done But The University Agreed. As Soon As Jamie Started Playing On The Plaza People Came Like Ants To Sugar. By Evening's End A Full Crowd Of Students Were Clapping And Dancing As Jamie Filled The Night Sky With Soul And Groove.
During These Great College Days A Friend Invited Jamie To A Local Church Where He Grew Spiritually. Grateful For Fresh Direction Jamie Dove Into Church-Based Music Helping Form The Group Colorblind That Played In Places Such As Brazil Chile And The Philippines.
Jamie's Life Was Further Enriched When He Met His Wife Ana In 1997 And The Next Year The Happy Couple Had A Son The First Of Two. Jamie Still Made Time To Play With Top Talent Including Jamming With Jazz Legend Ira Sullivan And Playing The Rose Bowl Halftime Show In 1998 Alongside Singer Speech Of Arrested Development. Jamie's Church Ties Then Took Him To Memphis Tennessee Where He Became A Church Music Director.
Eager To Delve Into The Memphis Music Scene Jamie Sought Out The Well-Known B.B. King's Blues Club. "As Soon As I Stepped Inside I Felt Out Of Place " Remembers Jamie. "I Was The Only White Guy In The Room!" Undaunted Jamie Introduced Himself And Asked If He Could Sit In With The House Band That Night. Feeling Charitable The Band Agreed To Work Him In During The Final Set. So Jamie Found A Table And Settled Back For An Evening Of Blues. Long After Midnight Jamie Took Up His Saxophone And Cut Loose With Amazing Skill And Soul. The Band Members Gawked At Each Other Then Broke Into Wide Grins. This Cat Was The Real Deal! They Begged Jamie To Come Back And Soon He Became A Regular Star Of The Show.
Jamie Then Moved To Nashville Where He Broadened His Grip On The Music Business. Besides Playing In A Variety Of Bands Jamie Coached Local Musicians On Sax Keyboard And Vocals. He Did Studio Work Including Writing Jingles For Black Entertainment Television BET . Jamie's Versatility Was So Impressive That He Became Music Director For Country Star Rick Orozco - With Jamie On Keyboards Not Sax!
Needing A Vacation Jamie Took His Wife To San Diego. While There He Heard That David Sanborn Was Playing So Jamie Scored Some Tickets. In The Front Row Of The Sanborn Show Musical Lightning Struck Jamie A Second Time. As In Sanborn's Concert During Jamie's Youth Inspiration And Vision Came Flooding Back In Waves And Jamie Wept And Laughed Aloud At The Revelation. With His Faith And Family In Place It Was Time. Time For Jamie To Make His Music And Give It To The World.
Jamie Moved To Orlando Florida And Immediately Rounded Up The Hottest Talent He Could Find. By Late 2003 His Band Was Gigging At The Best Clubs And Jazz Festivals While Doing Radio Interviews With Smooth Jazz Stations Such As Orlando's 103.1 WLOQ.
Jamie's Guitar Player Bradley Catron Introduced Him To Berklee Graduate Veit Renn A Multiplatinum Producer Whose Clients Included Backstreet Boys And NSync. Veit Was So Impressed With Jamie WilliamS That He Joined Jamie's Band. Veit Produced Jamie's Landmark First Solo Effort After Hours. "Since I Was A Teenager " Said Veit "I've Been Listening To The Greats Like Sanborn Lorber Return To Forever And Weather Report. Producing Jamie WilliamS Was Like Being Part Of That History Of Great Instrumentalists. "
Jennifer Hudson Golden Globe And Oscar Winner Sang On After Hours For Jamie's Cover Of The Stevie Wonder Hit 'Overjoyed.' Jennifer Said "It Was Such An Honor And A Great Experience To Work With Jamie WillamS. It's Not Every Day You Get To Work Beside True Talent Like That!"
At This Stage The Sky Is Truly The Limit For Jamie WilliamS. A Confident Master Of His Craft He Is Quickly Carving His Place In Music History. Jamie's Songs Burst With Passion And Verve You Can Feel The Emotional Colors Flowing From His Sax. His Ballads Whisper And Weep His Upbeat Numbers Snap And Swing. Jamie Eases Into Smooth And Cool Or After A Tasty Flurry Of Furious Funk He Sends A Single Soulful Note Soaring High Over Clouds Of Rhythm. Even When You're Driving In Rush Hour Traffic Just A Touch Of Jamie's Brilliant 'Better Than Life' Transports You To An Evening Where You Are Sipping Your Favorite Drink Watching The Harbor Lights Dance Lazily On The Water And Thinking Faraway Thoughts. This Friends Is Music.
- Written By Jim Wyatt read less