Next up were the event headlinders, the Bernie Williams-Gil Parris Quartet, a true super group with the legendary “World’s Most Dangerous Bassist” Will Lee and the multitalented drummer and vocalist Josh Dion.
Bernie Williams - Guitar
Bernie Williams is a classically trained guitarist who plays and composes music with influences that include jazz, classical, pop, Brazilian, and Latin sounds. Bernie stated that he “became this musician in great part due training and mentorship of Gil Parris who let [him] sit in on jams all over town for the past 17 years.”
Gil Parris - Lead Guitar
Gil is an American Grammy-nominated rock, blues, jazz and pop guitarist. After briefly attending the Berklee School of Music because, as his Mother said in this New York Times article, “Mrs. Parris conceded she was '‘a little worried'‘ when her son returned home with photocopies of lecture notes and said he would ‘sit in his room’ and teach himself the school's jazz guitar curriculum.''
Parris then left to tour Europe as part of a musical troupe performing Jesus Christ Superstar before becoming a recording artist. Parris has released six solo albums and played collaboratively with over 20 other groups/artists. He has recorded and toured both as a solo artist and as a sideman with major artists including Dr. John, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Diane Schuur, David Mann, Billy Vera, Bobby Caldwell, Toni Braxton, Sonny Fortune and Kenny Barron, to name a few.
Will Lee - Bass
I was going to say “who’s Will Lee”, then my research showed that I heard Lee many times before. Trumpeter Randy Brecker called Lee out of a class one day and invited him to audition for Dreams. In New York, Lee's career as a session musician flourished, and he toured with many artists. In 1982, Lee became one of the original members of The World's Most Dangerous Band, the house band on NBC's Late Night with David Letterman. He holds the distinction of playing with Paul Shaffer, on both Late Night and The Late Show, longer than any other member of the CBS Orchestra. Highlights also include getting a lifetime achievement award from Bass Player magazine, playing with many luminaries such as all The Beatles -- George Harrison at Royal Albert Hall, Paul McCartney at The Concert For NYC, D’Angelo, Chaka Khan, Phoebe Snow, James Brown and more.
Josh Dion - Drums and Vocals
Josh Dion was born at the tail end of the disco funk era, when popular radio bore the sounds of Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, and “four on the floor” drum beats! Raised in Storrs, CT, Josh started playing his father's drums before he even started kindergarten. Dion is a singing drummer who made his first impression in New York in February 2004 at Blue Note. Josh was noticed by jazz guitarist Chuck Loeb, who offered him an opportunity to be seen and heard by a whole new level of the music audience. From that platform, he has gone on to work with some of the major brand names of the music world: Candy Dulfer, Spyro Gyra, Will Lee, Pat Martino, Jeff Kashiwa, Jason Miles, Anthony Jackson, Edgar Winter, Randy Brecker, Bob James, Eric Marienthal, Til Bronner, Jim Beard, saxophonist Kim Waters and on and on.