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Eternal Flame Crematorium

239 Old Ferry Road

Brattleboro, VT 05301

(802) 254-3508

Ker Westerlund and Fleming Funeral Home

57 High Street

Brattleboro, VT 05301

(802) 254-5655

Brattleboro VT Obituaries and Death Notices

Claude Williamson dies at 89; versatile jazz pianist was mainstay of West Coast cool - Los Angeles Times

There is only a handful of players that fit into that category, and he was right there at the top,” Poston said.Claude B. Williamson Jr. was born Nov. 18, 1926, in Brattleboro, Vt., to a professional drummer and his wife, Louise. He never finished a degree at the New England Conservatory of Music, but this classical training was apparent for the rest of his career, a Times critic noted, evident in "the smoothness of his play and the harmonic textures" he developed.He was drafted at the end of World War ll and got a reprieve when peace came, but was deployed with the Army and sent to Korea in ‘51. Family lore has it that he was spared combat when higher-ups got word he was a musician, his son said.The Army needed a drummer. Williamson played the piano. But he was perfectly happy to say he played drums -- and he could fake it well enough to ride out the war in an officers’ club on Okinawa, Marc Williamson said.That suited him fine; he was no soldier. "My dad was a brilliant musician but one of those people who couldn’t get a nail in straight if you know what I mean,” his son said.Williamson settled in L.A. and became the house pianist at Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse in Hermosa, then joined the Bud Shank Quartet in the late 1950s. He settled in Studio City, recorded regularly with other musicians and as a soloist enjoyed a second wave of fame in the 1980s when his music was rediscovered in Japan, and Japanese labels sought him out, Poston said.The craze for L.A. cool jazz came and went — and came and went again. In his later years, Williamson suffered illnesses and frailty.But a couple of years ago, when his son assumed he was long past playing, the musician agreed to appear at a jazz reunion. He was so weak he barely made it through the drive.Then, on stage, at the age of 87, he played. "It was amazing,” the son recalled. "I'm so glad I was there."  A listener told Williamson after he had “knocked it out of the park," music to the ears of the bebop artist who was also a lifelong baseball fan.The performance recalled his old style, which was "seamless," his son said. "It flowed."Along with son Marc, Williamson is survived by his wife Deanne and son Shawn.jill.leovy@latimes.com MORE OBITUARIESDavid Horowitz dies at 86; longtime Hollywood publicistGarry Marshall, director of 'Pretty Woman' and creator of 'Happy Days,' is dead at 81Celebrity photographer Bill Jones dies at 81; captured black Hollywood, political figures and athletes...

Brattleboro News

Claude Williamson dies at 89; versatile jazz pianist was mainstay of West Coast cool - Los Angeles Times

There is only a handful of players that fit into that category, and he was right there at the top,” Poston said.Claude B. Williamson Jr. was born Nov. 18, 1926, in Brattleboro, Vt., to a professional drummer and his wife, Louise. He never finished a degree at the New England Conservatory of Music, but this classical training was apparent for the rest of his career, a Times critic noted, evident in "the smoothness of his play and the harmonic textures" he developed.He was drafted at the end of World War ll and got a reprieve when peace came, but was deployed with the Army and sent to Korea in ‘51. Family lore has it that he was spared combat when higher-ups got word he was a musician, his son said.The Army needed a drummer. Williamson played the piano. But he was perfectly happy to say he played drums -- and he could fake it well enough to ride out the war in an officers’ club on Okinawa, Marc Williamson said.That suited him fine; he was no soldier. "My dad was a brilliant musician but one of those people who couldn’t get a nail in straight if you know what I mean,” his son said.Williamson settled in L.A. and became the house pianist at Howard Rumsey’s Lighthouse in Hermosa, then joined the Bud Shank Quartet in the late 1950s. He settled in Studio City, recorded regularly with other musicians and as a soloist enjoyed a second wave of fame in the 1980s when his music was rediscovered in Japan, and Japanese labels sought him out, Poston said.The craze for L.A. cool jazz came and went — and came and went again. In his later years, Williamson suffered illnesses and frailty.But a couple of years ago, when his son assumed he was long past playing, the musician agreed to appear at a jazz reunion. He was so weak he barely made it through the drive.Then, on stage, at the age of 87, he played. "It was amazing,” the son recalled. "I'm so glad I was there."  A listener told Williamson after he had “knocked it out of the park," music to the ears of the bebop artist who was also a lifelong baseball fan.The performance recalled his old style, which was "seamless," his son said. "It flowed."Along with son Marc, Williamson is survived by his wife Deanne and son Shawn.jill.leovy@latimes.com MORE OBITUARIESDavid Horowitz dies at 86; longtime Hollywood publicistGarry Marshall, director of 'Pretty Woman' and creator of 'Happy Days,' is dead at 81Celebrity photographer Bill Jones dies at 81; captured black Hollywood, political figures and athletes...