Ben Williams' sophomore full-length album, 2015's
Coming of Age, finds the adept bassist/composer delivering another sophisticated mix of post-bop, fusion, and contemporary R&B-infused jazz. The album follows up
Williams' equally striking 2011 debut,
State of Art, and showcases the winner of the 2009
Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition's further development as a bandleader, composer, and improviser. Once again joining
Williams is his longtime backing ensemble Sound Effect, featuring tenor and soprano saxophonist
Marcus Strickland, guitarist
Matthew Stevens, pianist and Fender Rhodes keyboardist
Christian Sands, synth and Fender Rhodes keyboardist Masayuki "Big Yuki" Hirano, and drummer John Davis. The album also showcases several guest artists including singer
Goapele, who adds her soulfully resonant voice to the midtempo, Afro-pop-infused "Voice of Freedom (For Mandela)." Also spotlighted here is acclaimed New Orleans-born trumpeter
Christian Scott, whose muted trumpet lead on
Williams' reworked cover of vocalist
Lianne La Havas' sultry, introspective ballad "Lost & Found" brings to mind the melancholic sound of
Miles Davis. A stylistically wide-ranging musician with roots in gospel, R&B, and pop as well as jazz,
Williams has a gift for pulling his many influences together across an album. This is evident throughout
Coming of Age, with cuts like the Latin-infused "Forecast" and "Half-Steppin'" bringing to mind bassist
Jaco Pastorius and saxophonist
Wayne Shorter's work with the '70s fusion outfit
Weather Report. Similarly,
Williams reinvents
Nirvana's classic "Smells Like Teen Spirit" into a robust, virtuosic solo bass performance and even takes to the mike, rapping over a latter-album reprise of his militaristic ballad "Toy Soldiers." Ultimately, with
Coming of Age,
Williams continues to reveal his growth as one of the most open-minded and gifted millennial jazz artists. ~ Matt Collar