GET TO KNOW: Kate Williams - 2018 Education Award Winner

June 20, 2018 | by Erin Putnam

Kate Williams

In the spring of 2015, SFJAZZ held its annual Jazz Girls Day: a free, all-day workshop for all levels of young women learning to play jazz. One attendee in particular made the entire faculty sit up and take notice – freshman trumpet player and recent relocatee to the Bay Area, Kate Williams. Three years later, this young brass player has more incredible solos, original compositions, and DownBeat recognitions under her belt than we can count – just a few of the reasons why her High School All-Stars peers nominated her to receive this year’s SFJAZZ Education Award & Scholarship. We spoke with Kate after she was honored at last month’s final All-Stars performance and got her honest opinions on the alchemy of consuming and creating, small inspirational moments, and why practice is not the key to playing.

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You have emerged as one of the incredible songwriters of the All-Stars Combo - what is the first step in parlaying a feeling into a musical idea?

Writing music is always a different experience. I spend a lot of time “exploring” on the piano, so most of my tunes start there. I have a lot of snippets of ideas that I keep in my back pocket until they develop into something bigger. Once I have a good idea, the rest of the piece is just a matter of finishing the musical sentence I’ve started.

Kate Williams with SFJAZZ High School All-Stars Combo

Who have you been listening to most this year?

I go through phases of putting music in and letting music out. The past couple of months have been more of the latter. As a matter of fact, I’ve been studying philosophy and playing with my dog more than listening to music lately - I think that’s equally helpful for me to make music. Of course, I’ve still been listening; Gene Harris, Olivier Messiaen, and Bill Evans are the latest on my playlist.

Was there one standout experience you had with the High School All-Stars that really pushed your playing forward or inspired you?

While it’s nowhere near a magnum opus, arranging “Milestones” (listen on Spotify or Apple Music) was definitely a turning point for me. Dann Zinn (the High School All-Stars Combo director) had asked me to arrange it, but despite my best efforts all I could come up with was a basic four-part harmony on the melody. I couldn’t bridge the gap between my simple arrangements and the innovative reworking that I knew Dann was looking for. After hours on the piano thinking, I finally threw my hands on the keys and came up with a cool idea that became the basis of the piece. Something had clicked, and I think that was definitely a big moment that got me excited and confident in writing and arranging.

Kate Williams

What advice would you give to young players out there who are trying to become a part of this world (beyond practicepracticepractice)?

It’s a cliché, but passion is really the key to success. That word gets thrown around a lot, and I think it’s one of those “unteachable” concepts that remains a mystery to young musicians. Music requires hard work for sure, but the real progress doesn’t require work at all. My fondest musical memories were writing songs on the piano and singing at the top of my lungs to the radio with my brother. That didn’t take practice, it took passion (and some extremely supportive parents). Music is meant to be fun - practicepracticepractice is pointless unless you have a goal in mind. Passion means practicing and performing and listening and creating not because you have to, but because you need to.