Greg Williamson

Born: January, 1965

BIO - The Short Version

Greg Williamson, drummer, percussionist and composer, has toured as amember of the swinging big bands of Woody Herman, Glenn Miller andHarry James. He has appeared on over 30 CDs, including the recent"JazzIn It" by singer Dee Daniels, which charted #1 across Canada. Hetravelled several years with Steve Allen and Tonight Show Live withlegendary pianist Paul Smith. He has performed with Seattle's own andwidely renown vocalist Ernestine Anderson since 1991, acting in lateryears as her musical director. He has led his own groups ranging fromGreg Williamson Quartet to the Pony Boy All-Star Big Band, and recentlyformed an organ-quartet "The Young Lizards" bringing jazz sounds to thealt-club scene. He also focuses on large scale multi-media projects,including the award winning "Conversations & Deconstructions" the "1909AYP - Jazz Music For Seattle's World's Fair." Greg's early experiencescame from hanging out with the cats on the scene - legendary jazzers likeBuddy Catlett, Ray Brown, Red Kelly, Bill Ramsay and Jay Thomas. In1994 he founded Pony Boy Records which has produced 40 releases, theannual Pony Boy Records Jazz Picnic, and the weekly series Jazz &Sushi. He is the musical director for Boxley's Jazz Club in North Bend,WA, which features music nightly, and hopes to continue to foster jazzmusic, and hang out with the cats on the scene

This Is Now

By Pony Boy All-Star Big Band

Label: Pony Boy Records
Released: 2024
Track listing: Harrod's Creek; Sabermetric Samba; 21st Century; Rabin; Mr. X; All The Things I��m Not; Inlet; I Fall In Love Too Easily; The Ray; Geo Rose;. I Won't Dance; Bahia.

Pony Boy All-Star Big Band: This Is Now

by Jack Bowers
November 12, 2024

This Is Now is a venturous and engaging concert date by the Pony Boy All-Star Big Band, taped in May 2024 at Boxley's jazz club in North Bend, Washington. Pony Boy refers to the band's label, Pony Boy Records, while the term All-Star is, as always, in the eye (and ear) of the beholder. Clearly, there ...

Pony Boy All-Star Big Band

Active since: 1994

The Pony Boy All-Star Big Band 2024 is a conglomeration of the best professional musicians in the Pacific Northwest. Their newest release This Is Now (2024 Pony Boy Records) highlights new music arrangements and modern comostions, informed by their long-standing study of the jazz tradition. Previous recordings include Conversations & Deconstructions, and Plays the Music of Gaylord Jones. Led by drummer and arranger Greg Williamson, this collection of musicians is truly All-Star

When You're Smiling

By Danny Kolke

Label: Pony Boy Records
Released: 2021
Track listing: When You're Smiling; Beautiful Friendship; Don't Get Around Much Anymore; Make You Feel My Love; Sandu; Misty; Skylark; September in the Rain; That's All; It is Well with My Soul

Tuesday Night Jams at the Owl: A 25 Year Legacy in Seattle

by Paul Rauch
June 4, 2021

Traditionally, the jam session in jazz has provided an outlet for artistic growth and musical connections, for younger musicians to play with more established artists. The oral tradition that has allowed the music to evolve and grow generationally lives at the community jam session. It is a fertile meeting place and proving ground for both established ...

Ballard Jazz Festival Preview: A Seattle Rite Of Spring

April 1, 2017

The Ballard Jazz Festival, Seattle's most anticipated and community oriented jazz event, will take place May 17-20, and will headline legendary saxophonist, Chico Freeman. Dubbed three decades ago as one of the “young lions" of jazz for his participation in recordings with other “stars to be," such as Wynton Marsalis, Kevin Eubanks, and Paquito D'Rivera, Freeman's ...

Danny Kolke Trio +Pete Christlieb

By Danny Kolke

Label: Pony Boy Records
Released: 2014
Track listing: Pass Me Not; Just Friends; Fly Me Home; Drew's Blues; Alone Together; Foop Deep; Order Without Me; Amazing Grace

Sunday Nights by Danny Kolke Trio

By Danny Kolke

Label: Pony Boy Records
Released: 2013
Track listing: Just a Closer Walk: If I Could Spend My Life with You: Near the Cross: Tr?umerei: There's a Girl I Know: Song for My Father: Please Stay a Little While: What a Friend We Have in Jesus: Blue Monk: Abide with Me

The Young Lizards: Our Modern Lifestyle

by Jack Bowers
August 9, 2011

The organ trio, once a focal point of soul-drenched jazz in the heyday of such elder statesmen as Jimmy Smith, Richard “Groove" Holmes, Brother Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff, Charles Earland, Don Patterson and others, hasn't been nearly as prominent in recent years as the ranks of virtuosic organists (Joey DeFrancesco notwithstanding) have thinned. Nevertheless, the organ ...