Bassist Heshima Mark Williams is a San Francisco native whose playing springs from thirty years’ experience of the Bay Area’s rich musical heritage.  Heshima studied under the tutelage of the first African-American classical bassist in the Boston Symphony, Dr. Ortiz Walton.  He has toured with trombonist Julian Priester; trumpeter Eddie Henderson; saxophonists Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Simmons and Idris Ackamoor (as a member of The Pyramids); vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson; and pianist Jeff Chimenti.  And he has recorded on albums by Julian Priester and Bobby Hutcherson, as well as Japanese pianist Saya Saitol, jazz blues vocalist Lady Memphis and jump blues vocalist Lavay Smith; The Pyramids; saxophonist Robert Stewart; and guitarist Calvin Keyes, among others.  Along the way, Heshima has also performed with countless other Bay Area artists, including jazz violinist India Cook, vibraphonist Yancey Taylor, and Destiny Mohammed, harpist from the hood.  Currently, he can be found performing at Ritz-Carlton properties throughout San Francisco.  In November, Heshima Mark Williams will be embarking on a six country European tour with stops in Prague, London, Copenhagen, Zurich and venues in France,,Sweden and Italy.

Pianist/vocalist/composer/instructor Keith Williams is active in the Bay Area both as soloist and an ensemble player.  He has traveled extensively, performing in Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia, Honduras and Europe, and has recorded five CDs of jazz standards and original songs.  A graduate of the Berklee School of Music, Keith has shared the stage with Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Ben Tucker and Fred Wesley.  His repertoire includes jazz and popular standards, blues, pop, R&B, Brazilian bossa nova and country songs.  He is a co-composer of one of the official songs of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics as well as an official song for the Shanghai World Expo 2010.  He currently lives in San Mateo with his vocalist wife Kaori Yamada.