1. Alexander Balos Williams was an American jazz trombonist, perhaps best known for playing with the premier big bands of his day, especially the Chick Webb orchestra.
11 Facts About Sandy Williams
1. 2.
The son of a preacher, Sandy Williams was born in Summerville, South Carolina.
3.
The family of thirteen moved to Washington, DC, when Sandy Williams was very young however, the siblings lost their parents six months apart and were sent to an St Joseph's Industrial School, an orphanage in Delaware.
4.
Sandy Williams began taking private lessons while attending Armstrong High School and occasionally played with his professor's sons.
5.
Sandy Williams played with several bands before he started playing with the Lincoln Theater pit band.
6.
Sandy Williams played with Claude Hopkins in Atlantic City and later in 1929, joined Horace Henderson.
7.
Sandy Williams became the solo trombonist with Fletcher Henderson himself but was fired after setting off a firecracker on stage.
8.
Sandy Williams became a staple player in the Chick Webb band from 1933 to 1940, where he later worked with a young Ella Fitzgerald.
9.
Sandy Williams then worked with other bands including Cootie Williams with whom he recorded with Ella again.
10.
Sandy Williams died on March 25,1991, in New York City.
11.
Sandy Williams is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City.