Claude Williams

Who was Claude Williams?

Claude "Fiddler" Williams was an American jazz violinist and guitarist.

Williams was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, in 1908, and by 10 he had learned to play guitar, mandolin, banjo and cello. Upon hearing Joe Venuti play, he was inspired to take up the violin. In 1928, he moved to Kansas City and toured with Andy Kirk's territory band Twelve Clouds of Joy, which also included Mary Lou Williams, and further honed his musicianship by participating in jam sessions. Count Basie discovered him in Kansas City and later invited him to play rhythm guitar in his band. From the late 1960s, he often played with fellow Kansas City resident Jay McShann. From the 1980s, Williams performed on violin exclusively.

In 1997, Claude Williams was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.

He died of pneumonia in Kansas City at age 96. He was the last surviving jazz musician to have recorded before 1930.

His memorabilia has been donated to the LaBudde Special Collections Department at the Miller Nichols Library at the University of Missouri-Kansas City