Keith Williams
Growing up in the “melting pot” that the Bay Area is famous for influenced Keith to focus in on his skills as a drummer.
Keith Williams Jr. an extraordinary and experienced musician who has been playing drums since the age of 3. He started playing at church with the encouragement of his parents and under the mentorship of his uncle Tony Williams (of L.A.), and continued playing in school. A teacher named Jim Hodge introduced Keith to Big Band Jazz at College Park High School. Throughout school Keith honed his skills by playing in various jazz combos, meeting his friend Mike Blankenship (in college at Diablo Valley College), playing R&B and all of the latest songs of the day as well as Jazz. Keith's encounter and friendship with Mike expanded his vision and desire to one-day play professionally.
Growing up in the “melting pot” that the Bay Area is famous for influenced Keith to focus in on his skills as a drummer. The ability to play various styles was a must in the Bay Area. For example, one morning you could find Keith playing gospel music at his dad’s church, the same evening you would hear him playing Contemporary Christian Music (CCM – rock based) at a local Evangelical Church. The night would end with sitting in with his friend’s blues band. He would also sit in once a month with a jazz big band in Oakland. The music in the Bay Area is comparable to the population – a true “melting pot”.
In 2001, Keith moved to Los Angeles to pursue his education and music career. Los Angeles presented many opportunities for Keith. He had already had friends and family a great support system to help him establish his “roots”. His first friends when he moved back to Los Angeles were Greg Dendy, who in turn introduced him to another great friend and mentor Felix Pollard. This relationship grew as Keith studied under Felix setting up his gear around town learning the music business. Opportunities soon would come from being mentored by Felix, as he was a respected musician around town. Also Felix, and another friend and great musician Brandon Coleman introduced Keith to his future wife Candice Bereal (who is also a musician). Playing in various clubs for different emerging artists helped Keith really develop a sound that would become the foundation to his sound today. Having opportunities to work with local bands like “Cross Town Traffic” (CTT) helped Keith learn “Top 40” covers and introduce him to more musicians.
Keith can be heard providing drums on Spectra Records artist Phil Gates’ album titled Twelve Rhythms. He recorded a music video and album with independent artist Darius Lux whose song “Best Day of My Life” can be heard on NBA.Com’s “Greatest 90’s dunks”. He also recorded an album with the group Jazz in Pink and has shared the stage with Grammy Award artist Norman Brown. They performed in Japan and across the United States. Keith has had opportunities to record and play with many artist such as: Kenny Lattimore, Chante Moore, Anita Wilson, Arrested Development, CeCe Peniston, Tiffany, Loverboy, The Knack, Tommy Tutone, Sophie B. Hawkins, Wang Chung, Irene Cara, Howard Jones, PM Dawn, American Idol's Pia Toscano, Clay Aiken, Jamie Foxx, Steve Oliver, THREESTYLE. feat. Magdalena Chovancova, Jazz in Pink’s Gail Johnson, Kirk Whalum, Eric Marienthal, Marrion Meadows, CeCe Winans, Stevie Wonder and many more....