Metric Displacement of Tony Williams' Early Career

Abstract

Jazz drummer Tony Williams' musical and technical abilities surpassed those of his contemporaries, allowing him to push the boundaries of the music he played. This was especially true at fast tempi. Through transcription and analysis of Williams' phrasing, this study identifies the ways he obscured pulse, meter, and form. He used three major techniques to do so: accent variation, accentual shift, and metric superimposition. The examples within this study demonstrate both a regular formal structure as well as a clearly articulated macro-beat from the walking bass line. In using the aforementioned techniques, Williams created a variety of rhythmic displacement that occurs not only at metric levels, but formal as well. Williams was not the first drummer to use these techniques, but what is especially significant is his use of them at such fast tempi. The two songs represented throughout each come from the first year of Williams' professional recording career. While only seventeen at the time, his playing demonstrates a clear technical leap on the instrument over his contemporaries. These concepts of metric displacement became a hallmark of Williams' playing throughout his entire career, and helped to establish him as one of jazz drumming's most significant contributors..