[Cover photo credit to David Kaufman]

Pianist Jordan Williams has announced debut solo album, Playing by Ear, also his debut as a bandleader for the Milan-based label Red Records. The album features a trio of collaborators: Jeff “Tain” Watts on drums, Nat Reeves on bass, and Wallace Roney Jr. on trumpet. It will arrive on January 16, 2026 with the lead single “Tayamisha” available now.

Williams was raised in Philadelphia Jazz and that lineage has stayed with him, particularly Herbie Hancock and Mulgrew Miller. With “Tayamisha” (Buster Williams), Williams nods to Fats Waller and James P. Johnson.

He says:

Tayamisha is dedicated to my late Pop Pop and Mom mom (grandparents), Ralph and Dorris Williams. They were fans of records Buster Williams was on and they owned a chicken store in the 60s called Wings n Things in Camden NJ, which was Buster’s hometown.

A recent graduate of George Washington University, Williams has already shared stages with Branford Marsalis, Jazzmeia Horn, Camille Thurman, and Curtis Lundy.

Williams concludes:

Playing by ear is how I learned to listen — not just to music, but to life. You start to realize that silence, memory, and mistake all play a role in what comes next.