Guitarist Williamson marks 25 years at jazz festival

Guitarist Van Williamson will perform at his 25th Rehoboth Beach Jazz Festival with his trio - Tom Anthony on electric and string bass and Wes Crawford on drums.

“A long strange trip doesn’t even begin to describe the story,” said Williamson.

“When I started I only had one note, Bb, which I tortured and twisted into a medley of tunes by Duke Ellington.  It took forever to get through one set but I hung in there because at the time I was unemployed and living under the boardwalk and liked to avoid going home because of the sand.  So one set might take me all night, through the judicious use of whole notes and a flexible time signature.  The reviews were not kind.  One reviewer said I “appeared to have less than zero knowledge of any of the theory that is the basis for Western music. His performance was dumb, monotonous, and lacking in any aesthetic quality whatsoever.  Pure drivel.”  And that was one of the better reviews.  

Since then Williamson has earned praise for his performances, both as a solo artist and with different ensembles.  The trio is very popular during the Rehoboth festival, attracting a loyal set of listeners and new fans.

Anthony is a mainstay of the Eastern Shore jazz and classical music scenes. He is first-call bassist for DC-area musicians such as Chuck and Robert Redd and Steve Abshire, as well as touring musicians like Howard Alden, Ken Peplowski and Frank Vignola.  He is a longtime member of the popular group Chesapeake Scenes with Tom McHugh.  He has been teaching classical guitar, lute and acoustic and electric bass at Washington College in Chestertown, MD, for over 20 years.  

And what would a jazz trio be without someone hitting something in a relentless attempt to ‘cop a groove’ with one another?  Answering the musical question, ‘if you cop a groove in the forest and no one’s around, does it still count?’ is Crawford, enjoying his second year of performing with the Van Williamson Trio.  

Crawford currently teaches drumset privately and at Goucher College in Baltimore.  He has performed and/or recorded in a variety of popular styles with many artists throughout the Washington, DC and Baltimore region and beyond, including shows with award-winning song stylist Jane L. Powell, saxophonist Ron Holloway, singing legend Eva Cassidy, the Bay Jazz Project, and the David Bach Consort.  He has served as vice president and president of the Maryland/Delaware chapter of the Percussive Arts Society from 2005-2014 and he is an artist associate with Dream Cymbals, Baltimore Drum Company, Vic Firth Sticks and ProLogix Percussion.  He also created and directs the Drumset and Percussion Camp of the Goucher Summer Arts Institute.