A bass-sideman for high profile mainstream US jazzers such as Terence Blanchard, Stefon Harris, Jacky Terrasson, and saxophonist Marcus Strickland who appears here, Williams is a Washington DC native who won the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz competition in 2009. With his debut, the question arises as to whether he can make the step up to solo artist with the boldness of other recent winners such as Gretchen Parlato, Ambrose Akinmusire and Tigran Hamasyan. As is common with these artists and as the album title suggests, Williams, on his debut, looks to explore a new future for jazz but one that's equally conversant with the past. In his case, it's a mix of jazz, R&B and soul: influences from 1950s hard bop through 70s funk-jazz are shot through with a contemporary R&B/post-hip hop sensibility. Half the CD is originals, the rest, interpretations of songs by Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder through to neo-soul singer Goapele as well as trumpeter Woody Shaw's ‘Moontrane’ and the only standard ‘Moonlight in Vermont’, interpreted as mellow soulpop ballad. Shows great promise.