Current mood:
accomplished
Here are some reviews credits & liner notes about the album as they appeared on my original website.
"Gene Williams Welcome 2 My World Jazzy keyboard solos and changes over a hip-hop beat, self produced with care, conviction, and courage. A two-handed Tyneresque piano passage interrupted by fuzzy synth bass --- what could be more natural? And the title track is in a pushy 11/8. -In review"
Jim Aikin - Keyboard Magazine
"Welcome 2 My World Gene Williams is a one-man act mixing hip-hop, rap, and jazz in an effective way. Williams mainly uses keyboards, drums, and samples as means of expression. The keyboard doodling and the various electronic noises keeps the listener engaged, and the drums are programmed cleverly to keep the listener moving. The sampled vocals are done extremely well especially on the title track where Williams samples Freddie Mercury and Aretha Franklin, and on Ised Jazz which samples Humphrey Bogart, Michael Jackson, and Herbie Hancock. This might sound somewhat of an extreme mix of styles, but Williams blends them harmoniously with the keyboards and the drums. This is definitely worth checking out if you're into innovative hip-hop."
Ram Samudrala - Ram's album reviews
"***1/2 Welcome 2 My World (1996) This recording, almost all played or programmed by Williams, but the sound is remarkably full and fresh. He follows the same pattern on almost every track: he sets up a synth-based funk groove, with one or two brief vocal samples, and then plays a piano solo ("Masae" and "Ised Jazz" are more straight jazz). The backing tracks are carefully done, and the tunes are effective ("Undiya), but the strongest feature of the disc is his piano playing: despite the hip hop and funk backing tracks, he's pure jazz as a soloist, with taste, sophistication and versatility. His drum programming is also refreshing: he doesn't fall into the normal drumming clichés, although I don't know whether that's on purpose, or just because he's not a drummer. If you want to hear jazz playing in a funk/hip hop context, this is a good buy. (DBW)"
Wilson & Alroy's World
"Gene combines an excellent combination of jazz, funk, and progressive roots to make some soulful and experimental music. Probably the first "Urban Prog" album I've heard but it is some great experimental stuff, highly recommended."
Michael Backof - The Unsigned and Independent Label Artist Page.
1.Requiem 3:25 (Vocal samples; The Association, Derin Young, Al Sharpton).
2.Everything will be Beautiful 3:15 (contains a sample from "compared to what"(G.McDaniels) BMI Vocal sample; Marion Anderson).
3.Ised Jazz 4:23 (Vocal samples; Humphrey Bogart, Michael Jackson, Herbie Hancock;. Alto Sax Sample; Charlie Parker).
4.Welcome 2 my World 5:58* (Vocal samples; Freddy Mercury, Aretha Franklin. Drum Loop: Richie Harrison).
5.Masae 4:56*
6.Undiya 5:37 (contains a sample from "Gula Matari"(Q.Jones)BMI)
7.Noodling 2:55 (Drum Loop: Rashid Ali)
8.Victim of Society 3:19*
9.Reprise (Gene's Mega Mix) 3:34
All songs composed by Gene Williams Copyright 1995 - 2010
Produced by Gene Williams
Executive Producer: Jeff Jones
Recorded & Mixed by Gene Williams
*Recorded & Mixed by Jeff Jones & Gene Williams
Gene Williams: Keyboards, Vocals, Sound design, Rhythm programming, Computer sequencing and Digital sampling.
Featuring: Terry Silverlight: Hi-Hat & Cymbals (4) *Larry Crockett: Drums (5) * Richie Harrison: Drums (8)
Recorded and Mixed at Gene's Home Studio (Studio A), Queens, NY
and Satellite Studios NYC
Mastered by Joe Lambert at Ground Zero, NYC
Assistant: Joe "J.B" Lede
Some notes about the album!
Welcome 2 my world is the end result of a project that basically took about 9 months to complete.I had been working as a sideman since 1989 in Roberta Flack's band as well as stints with Chaka Khan Ashford & Simpson and others, but it wasn't until I started working with Warner Bros. recording artists 'Repercussions' that I seriously considered doing a solo project. Playing with Repercussions exposed me to the ultra hip acid jazz scene that was happening in New York (Giant Step) sharing bills with 'Groove Collective','Brooklyn Funk Essentials and 'Jazzamatazz'.I felt 'this is what I've been doing all along' and decided to get my act together and make some noise. However Welcome 2 my world doesn't seem to be a typical acid jazz album. After hearing the final outcome of the project I realized this album is a tribute to all of my heros who've influenced my sound over the years. People like Return to Forever, Weather Report, Yes, Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, Jan Hammer just to name a few. So yeah, I know Fusion is a politically incorrect word in the 90's, but it's the best word I can think of to describe the music that's on this album.
'REQUIEM' is a Funk groove that comes right out of the classic Jamaica Funk tradition. Check out albums from Tom Browne, Don Blackman and Bernard Wright to hear the best representations of the sound.
'EVERYTHING WILL BE BEAUTIFUL' features a loop of Roberta Flacks 'compared to what' and samples of Marion Anderson. Some digital cutting and pasteing was done to manipulate the dialogue into what I wanted Marion Anderson to say, but I think this captures the vibe of some of the acid jazz I was exposed to while playing with Repercussions.
'ISED JAZZ' is my play on the words 'acid jazz'. On top of the swing groove are samples of a young Michael Jackson saying: 'I said'...and Herbie Hancock replying: 'Jazz'.
'WELCOME 2 MY WORLD' is actually the oldest piece on the album. Written almost 10 years ago, it's kind of a signature piece of mine. The time signature is 11/8 and it's a direct result of my listening to Mahavishnu, Zappa and RTF. My vocal was recorded on my Tascam 238 8 track and despite popular opinion was NOT done with a vocoder. The piano solo is a tribute to McCoy Tyner. Terry Silverlight's ONE TAKE cymbal & hi-hat over dub really makes it special because I'd been a fan of his playing since hearing him on (keyboardist) Barry Miles solo albums in the late 70's.
'MASAE' is the name of a friend of mine that I met in Osaka, Japan. This piece was written on my QY20 sequencer while on a 10 week gig at club Encore doing cover tunes 6 nights a week. Kind of a drag really, but it paid for the album.
'UNDIYA' was also written while in Japan but while on a 1992 Roberta Flack tour. I had just gotten the QY20 and was figuring out how to program it on the bullet train to Tokyo. The result was the basic outline of this tune. That's me doing the Marcus Miller inspired bass line with my S-330 sampler.
'NOODLING' is Roberta's word for the type of jamming the band would do when she left the room. I sampled 3 bars of a Rashid Ali swinging drum loop and put it under a 4 bar pattern so it would be harder to hear the loop. I also manipulated the loops onto different beats to give the impression of live drum fills. Sounds kinda like Elvin.
'VICTIM OF SOCIETY' is probably the most complex song on the album. It opens with 2 bars of 14, goes into a 7/8 verse leading into a bridge that alternates between 11 and 13. After perfoming this song live with my band 'Prime Directive' it didn't make sense NOT to have my man Richie Harrison play drums on it, a great performance. I did the vocal trying to cop a John Lennon vibe but I don't know...I'm NOT the walrus.
'REPRISE' is a medley of all the songs and kind of wraps the album up into the form of a concept.
Jeff Jones invaluable recording expertise is a major contribution to this album. Keeping me on my toes when I'd bring him a completed mix by sending me back home to re-do the whole thing because the snare was too loud or the loops weren't stereo. Jeff brought the whole sound of the project to a more professional level and recorded the live drum tracks from his studio, so we had a kind of bi-coastal Queens/Manhattan thing going.
Special thanks to Mom, Dad and Grandma.
Jeff Jones, World Alert, Roberta Flack, Magic Lady, Chaka Khan, Ashford and Simpson, Jonathon Maron, Repercussions, Maurice Bernstien, Kaji, Groove Academy, Victor Jones, Nat Adderley Jr, Buddy Williams, Barry Miles, Gary Haase, Jerry and Katrice Barnes, Gabrielle Goodman, Dennis Collins, Shelton Becton, Cissy Houston, Cecilia Marta, Butch Watson, Phillip Woo, Adam Falcon, Black Rock Coalition, Beverly Jenkins, Kelvyn Bell, Vernon Reid, Muzz Skillings, Cory Glover, J.A.M, Stro, Barrio Boyzz, Lace,W.B.A..I; Leon Pendarvis, Jimmy Douglass, Lenny White, Don Blackman, Bernard Wright, Jamaica, St. Albans, Queens, Gary Foote, Bob Frey, Derin Young, Ollie Cotton, East Village Jazz Rock Coalition, Adam Holtzman, Iven Walters, Zanzibar, Club Encore, Osaka, Japan, Prime Directive: Lygia Forrest, Booker King, Richie Harrison, Kevin Harrington and Melvin Lee, Rob Gill, Mascara, Sophia's Toy, Billy Grant, Martinez Little, Paul Fraoley, Daiichi Kosho, Damfino Prod, Akira Satake, R.V.I; Shinya Kano, Kaz Hayashida, Harriet Tanner Ellis, and everyone else who either called me for a gig or came out to support my projects.
Jim Aikin - Keyboard Magazine
"Welcome 2 My World Gene Williams is a one-man act mixing hip-hop, rap, and jazz in an effective way. Williams mainly uses keyboards, drums, and samples as means of expression. The keyboard doodling and the various electronic noises keeps the listener engaged, and the drums are programmed cleverly to keep the listener moving. The sampled vocals are done extremely well especially on the title track where Williams samples Freddie Mercury and Aretha Franklin, and on Ised Jazz which samples Humphrey Bogart, Michael Jackson, and Herbie Hancock. This might sound somewhat of an extreme mix of styles, but Williams blends them harmoniously with the keyboards and the drums. This is definitely worth checking out if you're into innovative hip-hop."
Ram Samudrala - Ram's album reviews
"***1/2 Welcome 2 My World (1996) This recording, almost all played or programmed by Williams, but the sound is remarkably full and fresh. He follows the same pattern on almost every track: he sets up a synth-based funk groove, with one or two brief vocal samples, and then plays a piano solo ("Masae" and "Ised Jazz" are more straight jazz). The backing tracks are carefully done, and the tunes are effective ("Undiya), but the strongest feature of the disc is his piano playing: despite the hip hop and funk backing tracks, he's pure jazz as a soloist, with taste, sophistication and versatility. His drum programming is also refreshing: he doesn't fall into the normal drumming clichés, although I don't know whether that's on purpose, or just because he's not a drummer. If you want to hear jazz playing in a funk/hip hop context, this is a good buy. (DBW)"
Wilson & Alroy's World
"Gene combines an excellent combination of jazz, funk, and progressive roots to make some soulful and experimental music. Probably the first "Urban Prog" album I've heard but it is some great experimental stuff, highly recommended."
Michael Backof - The Unsigned and Independent Label Artist Page.
1.Requiem 3:25 (Vocal samples; The Association, Derin Young, Al Sharpton).
2.Everything will be Beautiful 3:15 (contains a sample from "compared to what"(G.McDaniels) BMI Vocal sample; Marion Anderson).
3.Ised Jazz 4:23 (Vocal samples; Humphrey Bogart, Michael Jackson, Herbie Hancock;. Alto Sax Sample; Charlie Parker).
4.Welcome 2 my World 5:58* (Vocal samples; Freddy Mercury, Aretha Franklin. Drum Loop: Richie Harrison).
5.Masae 4:56*
6.Undiya 5:37 (contains a sample from "Gula Matari"(Q.Jones)BMI)
7.Noodling 2:55 (Drum Loop: Rashid Ali)
8.Victim of Society 3:19*
9.Reprise (Gene's Mega Mix) 3:34
All songs composed by Gene Williams Copyright 1995 - 2010
Produced by Gene Williams
Executive Producer: Jeff Jones
Recorded & Mixed by Gene Williams
*Recorded & Mixed by Jeff Jones & Gene Williams
Gene Williams: Keyboards, Vocals, Sound design, Rhythm programming, Computer sequencing and Digital sampling.
Featuring: Terry Silverlight: Hi-Hat & Cymbals (4) *Larry Crockett: Drums (5) * Richie Harrison: Drums (8)
Recorded and Mixed at Gene's Home Studio (Studio A), Queens, NY
and Satellite Studios NYC
Mastered by Joe Lambert at Ground Zero, NYC
Assistant: Joe "J.B" Lede
Some notes about the album!
Welcome 2 my world is the end result of a project that basically took about 9 months to complete.I had been working as a sideman since 1989 in Roberta Flack's band as well as stints with Chaka Khan Ashford & Simpson and others, but it wasn't until I started working with Warner Bros. recording artists 'Repercussions' that I seriously considered doing a solo project. Playing with Repercussions exposed me to the ultra hip acid jazz scene that was happening in New York (Giant Step) sharing bills with 'Groove Collective','Brooklyn Funk Essentials and 'Jazzamatazz'.I felt 'this is what I've been doing all along' and decided to get my act together and make some noise. However Welcome 2 my world doesn't seem to be a typical acid jazz album. After hearing the final outcome of the project I realized this album is a tribute to all of my heros who've influenced my sound over the years. People like Return to Forever, Weather Report, Yes, Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, Jan Hammer just to name a few. So yeah, I know Fusion is a politically incorrect word in the 90's, but it's the best word I can think of to describe the music that's on this album.
'REQUIEM' is a Funk groove that comes right out of the classic Jamaica Funk tradition. Check out albums from Tom Browne, Don Blackman and Bernard Wright to hear the best representations of the sound.
'EVERYTHING WILL BE BEAUTIFUL' features a loop of Roberta Flacks 'compared to what' and samples of Marion Anderson. Some digital cutting and pasteing was done to manipulate the dialogue into what I wanted Marion Anderson to say, but I think this captures the vibe of some of the acid jazz I was exposed to while playing with Repercussions.
'ISED JAZZ' is my play on the words 'acid jazz'. On top of the swing groove are samples of a young Michael Jackson saying: 'I said'...and Herbie Hancock replying: 'Jazz'.
'WELCOME 2 MY WORLD' is actually the oldest piece on the album. Written almost 10 years ago, it's kind of a signature piece of mine. The time signature is 11/8 and it's a direct result of my listening to Mahavishnu, Zappa and RTF. My vocal was recorded on my Tascam 238 8 track and despite popular opinion was NOT done with a vocoder. The piano solo is a tribute to McCoy Tyner. Terry Silverlight's ONE TAKE cymbal & hi-hat over dub really makes it special because I'd been a fan of his playing since hearing him on (keyboardist) Barry Miles solo albums in the late 70's.
'MASAE' is the name of a friend of mine that I met in Osaka, Japan. This piece was written on my QY20 sequencer while on a 10 week gig at club Encore doing cover tunes 6 nights a week. Kind of a drag really, but it paid for the album.
'UNDIYA' was also written while in Japan but while on a 1992 Roberta Flack tour. I had just gotten the QY20 and was figuring out how to program it on the bullet train to Tokyo. The result was the basic outline of this tune. That's me doing the Marcus Miller inspired bass line with my S-330 sampler.
'NOODLING' is Roberta's word for the type of jamming the band would do when she left the room. I sampled 3 bars of a Rashid Ali swinging drum loop and put it under a 4 bar pattern so it would be harder to hear the loop. I also manipulated the loops onto different beats to give the impression of live drum fills. Sounds kinda like Elvin.
'VICTIM OF SOCIETY' is probably the most complex song on the album. It opens with 2 bars of 14, goes into a 7/8 verse leading into a bridge that alternates between 11 and 13. After perfoming this song live with my band 'Prime Directive' it didn't make sense NOT to have my man Richie Harrison play drums on it, a great performance. I did the vocal trying to cop a John Lennon vibe but I don't know...I'm NOT the walrus.
'REPRISE' is a medley of all the songs and kind of wraps the album up into the form of a concept.
Jeff Jones invaluable recording expertise is a major contribution to this album. Keeping me on my toes when I'd bring him a completed mix by sending me back home to re-do the whole thing because the snare was too loud or the loops weren't stereo. Jeff brought the whole sound of the project to a more professional level and recorded the live drum tracks from his studio, so we had a kind of bi-coastal Queens/Manhattan thing going.
Special thanks to Mom, Dad and Grandma.
Jeff Jones, World Alert, Roberta Flack, Magic Lady, Chaka Khan, Ashford and Simpson, Jonathon Maron, Repercussions, Maurice Bernstien, Kaji, Groove Academy, Victor Jones, Nat Adderley Jr, Buddy Williams, Barry Miles, Gary Haase, Jerry and Katrice Barnes, Gabrielle Goodman, Dennis Collins, Shelton Becton, Cissy Houston, Cecilia Marta, Butch Watson, Phillip Woo, Adam Falcon, Black Rock Coalition, Beverly Jenkins, Kelvyn Bell, Vernon Reid, Muzz Skillings, Cory Glover, J.A.M, Stro, Barrio Boyzz, Lace,W.B.A..I; Leon Pendarvis, Jimmy Douglass, Lenny White, Don Blackman, Bernard Wright, Jamaica, St. Albans, Queens, Gary Foote, Bob Frey, Derin Young, Ollie Cotton, East Village Jazz Rock Coalition, Adam Holtzman, Iven Walters, Zanzibar, Club Encore, Osaka, Japan, Prime Directive: Lygia Forrest, Booker King, Richie Harrison, Kevin Harrington and Melvin Lee, Rob Gill, Mascara, Sophia's Toy, Billy Grant, Martinez Little, Paul Fraoley, Daiichi Kosho, Damfino Prod, Akira Satake, R.V.I; Shinya Kano, Kaz Hayashida, Harriet Tanner Ellis, and everyone else who either called me for a gig or came out to support my projects.
busy
