Buster Williams.

While not as familiar a bassist as contemporaries like Ron Carter or Dave Holland, few jazz musicians can claim a journey as rich and diverse as that of Buster Williams. Turning pro after a short stint in music school and while still only in his late teens, Williams has played with many of jazz’s all-time greats over the past 50 years. One would think there is some reward in looking back over such an impressive career.

“It’s very interesting because I don’t feel that way,” said Williams during a recent interview with DCist. “The key to creativity is to continue to seek. I’m reaching upwards. I’m reaching for a stronger blending of myself with the rest of humanity.”

Williams’ first professional gigs were behind saxophonists in the early 1960s, beginning with Jimmy Heath, then later with Gene Ammons and Sonny Stitt. His sensitive approach then led Williams to spend the rest of that decade in a series of stints with some of the great vocalists of the era, including Dakota Staton, Betty Carter, Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson. Williams’ most highly-regarded work in the 70s came with Herbie Hancock‘s groundbreaking Mwandishi sextet, which adopted a strong African aesthetic into the jazz idiom. Williams spent much of the subsequent decade playing with Sphere, an all-star group that began as a tribute to Thelonious Monk, but then went on to record an impressive series of albums.

“The thing about this music is it gives you a good persepctive on how to live as a human being and how to be selfless,” Williams said of his varied experiences. “It’s the epitome of democracy.”