85-year-old musician John B. Williams, known for his participation in the show "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson"« , is currently in hospice after undergoing surgery following a fall.
On Wednesday, June 3, Williams' wife, Jessica, told TMZ that her husband recently fell and required brain surgery due to injuries sustained. She noted that Williams had dementia before the fall, but the accident "significantly accelerated its progression," TMZ reports.
Williams is currently unable to speak or walk, and his health is deteriorating, Jessica said. One of his last conversations was with his daughter.
According to his online biography, Williams was the band's full-time bassist for seven years. The Tonight Show« — four years in New York and three years in Los Angeles. He also shared bass duties with Robert Cranshaw in «Sesame Street» . After that, he was a member of the full-time group "The Posse" in The Arsenio Hall Show from 1989 to 1993.
Williams has also collaborated with such prominent jazz musicians as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Hugh Masekela, and Roy Ayers. He has also released several albums.
In 2014, Williams spoke about his 2011 album Notes on Life , which he recorded together with his wife.
«It was a combination of music and monologues, which I call „jazz theater,“» he explained in an interview with For Bass Players Only. «The idea came from my years working on a very popular The Arsenio Hall Show , as part of the studio group Posse, and through a tongue-in-cheek poetry reading that became a regular part of the show called "A John B. Williams Poetry Moment.".
As recently as 2022, a 1991 video of Will Smith making fun of Williams' bald head went viral following the infamous incident in which Smith punched Chris Rock in the face at the Oscars.
«"I didn't take it seriously," Williams admitted to the magazine. Rolling Stone regarding an incident from the 90s. "He was a comedian. He was like the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He was a rapper. I took it as a joke. I brushed it off.".
Williams' latest album, African Queen (A Tribute To Horace Silver) , was released in 2014.
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