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Part of the August LAMPLIGHTER SESSIONS: 

The music of JACK WILLIAMS, rooted in his native South Carolina, was shaped by a 59-year career of playing folk, rock, jazz, R&B, classical and the popular music of the 30s, 40s and 50s. He is counted among the most dynamic performers on today’s “folk” circuit – “…one of the most enlightened and entertaining performers I’ve ever encountered”, said Dave Humphreys of Two-Way Street Coffeehouse in Downer’s Grove, IL. Jack is considered a “musician’s musician”, an uncommonly unique guitarist, a writer of vivid songs with a strong sense of place, and a storyteller in an old Southern tradition who further illustrates each tale with his guitar. Rich Warren of WFMT Chicago’s The Midnight Special said, “His artistry is nothing short of amazing”. Vic Heyman, in SING OUT!, wrote, “He is one of the strongest guitar players in contemporary folk.”

An adept acoustic guitarist and extremely capable in the vocal and songwriting departments…. Difficult to categorize, [Jack] Williams blends folk, country, jazz, and blues in a somewhat gentler Ry Cooder manner…. It would be hard to value one album over the other; both are of high caliber… Possessing a clear tenor,Williams showcases his fluid fingerpicking style on both discs… both albums are treats for the listener.  Jack Williams comprehends the potency of understatement and inhabits a world that may be less realistic but certainly kinder.” Pieter Hofmann, DIRTY LINEN 

Friendships with two great singers had an enormous impact on Jack’s career and on the development of his own singing voice. In 1973, his relationship with the late Harry Nilsson resulted in an album effort at RCA during an ill-fated period of music industry turmoil. Until 2002, he sometimes toured as sole accompanist to his friend, the late Mickey Newbury, with whom he co-wrote, co-produced, and recorded a live album and video, Nights When I Am Sane (reissued as Winter Winds).

RANDY SABIEN  Dubbed the past, present and future of jazz violin by NPR’s Jazz Profiles, RANDY SABIEN is a regular at Big Top Chautauqua and has performed on A Prairie Home Companion and Austin City Limits. His instrumental skill on the violin, guitar, mandolin, and piano, in the genres of jazz, country, and rock, is legendary. “It’s hard to imagine you could find a better violin player in the Midwest. Or anywhere else, for that matter!”

BILL CAMPLIN has a career dating back to the Middle Ages. “You might know Bill Camplin as that feisty old gray dude who cooks up a mean bowl of chili and hosts wonderful musicians with his wife Kitty at The Café Carpe in Ft. Atkinson. Think again. Bill is a dynamite songwriter and guitar picker in his own right. We’ve seen him perform in the last few years with people like Willy Porter, Peter Mulvey, and Randy Sabien.  Some nights he steals the show.  When Randy and Bill get together, you can count on hearing some grand tunes and great vibes.”