Sun, Jun 29
|YLJC Liberty Station - Room 2
BEN WILLIAMS MASTERCLASS!
🙏Kakos Clinics & Masterclasses is a TUITION-FREE program for current YLJC students and FREE to the community. Thank you to Charles and Gina Kakos for the generous sponsorship!
Time & Location
Jun 29, 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
YLJC Liberty Station - Room 2, 2650 Truxtun Rd suite 107, San Diego, CA 92106, USA
About The Event
FREE MASTERCLASS – Grammy-Award Winning Bassist BEN WILLIAMS 🎻
Recommended for Bass Players but open to all.
Open to all YLJC students and free for the community!
🗓️ June 29, 2025
🕓 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
📍 YLJC Classroom-2 (Liberty Station) 2650 Truxtun Rd, Suite 107, San Diego, CA 92106
Grammy Award-winning bassist Ben Williams is coming to YLJC for a special 90-minute masterclass.
When it comes to Black music, Washington, D.C. produces its share of game-changers—Duke Ellington, Chuck Brown, Marvin Gaye, Shirley Horn, Roberta Flack, Bad Brains, Meshell Ndegeocello, Wale, and Oddisee. 🎯 You can add Ben Williams to that list.
Williams has steadily become one of the most acclaimed and versatile bassists in modern jazz.
🏆 2009 Thelonious Monk International Jazz Bass Competition Winner
🎖 2× DownBeat Critics Poll Rising Star Award
🎧 iTunes Breakthrough Jazz Artist of the Year (2011)
He’s performed/recorded with Pat Metheny, George Benson, Stefon Harris, David Sanborn, Lauryn Hill, Wynton Marsalis, Robert Glasper, Maxwell, and Nicholas Payton.
📀 His acclaimed releases include:
• State of Art (2011) – 4.5★ in DownBeat, #1 on iTunes and Billboard Jazz
• Coming of Age (2015)
• I AM A MAN (2019) – A bold departure blending jazz, modern soul, and hip-hop, released on Rainbow Blonde, the label co-owned by José James.
“I wanted this record to deal with the past, present, and future,” Williams says of I AM A MAN, a project inspired by the sonic textures of The Roots, Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, and Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor.
🎶 Learn from a master whose work transcends genres, fuses innovation with tradition, and continues to redefine the sound of jazz.
🙏Kakos Clinics & Masterclasses is a TUITION-FREE program for current YLJC students and FREE to the community. Thank you to Charles and Gina Kakos for the generous sponsorship!