{"product_id":"ben-williams-state-of-art-0888072323414","title":"State of Art","description":"Ben Williams' debut album \u003cbr\u003e State of Art is a result of Williams' first prize in the 2009 Thelonious Monk International Competition for double-bass. \u003cbr\u003e State of Art marks Williams' first album as a leader, however it is not the bassist's first time working with the Concord Jazz family. For the past two years, Williams has been a working member of two Concord Jazz artists' working bands: vibraphonist Stefon Harris \u0026amp; Blackout, a R\u0026amp;B and hip-hop-tinged group, which calls on Williams' unique connection with go-go, from his native Washington, DC to inform its sound and pianist Jacky Terrasson's Trio. Williams was featured on Harris' 2009 Concord Jazz debut, Urbanus and Terrasson's 2010 Concord Jazz debut, Push . The title of Williams' debut stops modestly short of such a bold argument, but does sum up the young bassist's of-the-moment approach. \"I'm trying to interpret the times,\" Williams says, \"to represent what's going on today.\" To that end, \u003cbr\u003e State of Art is a wholly contemporary amalgam of jazz, R\u0026amp;B, hip-hop, and even classical influences which fully acknowledge the past while maintaining an urgency born of the here and now. The variety of flavors that comprise this musical stew, Williams explains, are drawn from his full 26 years of experience - with perhaps an extra nine months besides. \"I always feel like you start your musical training maybe even before you're born,\" he says. \"Consciously or subconsciously you soak in all the music you hear around you, so when you do get to the point where you're expressing your own music that stuff is all mixed in there whether you like it or not. So I just try to be honest and represent all that influence.\" The band Williams assembled for \u003cbr\u003e State of Art is a first-time assemblage of his peers, most of whom he's played with in a variety of different configurations.","brand":"Concord (Universal Music)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53513524511062,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0925\/5829\/5382\/files\/product_image_0888072323414_1_6f3bf22a-5b89-4701-868c-4eb38decb159.jpg?v=1778243146","url":"https:\/\/www.momoxbooks.com\/products\/ben-williams-state-of-art-0888072323414","provider":"momoxbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}