Bradley Williams - Chicago-based pianist, composer, vocalist and producer. He is a Grammy-nominated pianist/arranger for Woody Herman's Thundering Herd, with whom he toured in the mid 1980s. After settling in Chicago he brought his talents to such classic venues as The Green Mill and The Gold Star Sardine Bar (serving there as musical director.)
In the world of broadcasting he was co-host/creator of the internationally syndicated "Words and Music" program. His compositions have been incorporated into multiple film soundtracks, and his composition/orchestration "Beyond Bars," a tone poem featuring the words of Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King, was premiered by the Cape Symphony in January 2020.
Williams leads his own 10-piece band, "The 21st Century Review," a group that toured the Middle East and India and, most recently, appears on the CD "Investigation."
His trio was featured at the 2017 Chicago Jazz Festival, and he is currently writing and producing an original musical entitled "The Magic Word." Williams is also collaborating with his wife, vocalist and pianist Amy Jill, on a soon-to-be-released CD, "Back and Forth." He continues to appear regularly in Chicago and also operates their recording studio, Eloquent Sound Chicago.
Williams teaches Jazz piano and vocal technique at Wheaton Conservatory in Wheaton, Illinois, and served on the faculties of DePaul University School of Music, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois Benedictine College, and the Moscow College of Improvisation.