Benefit concert lands new home

Friday, April 27, 2001 | 9:27 a.m.

The annual Joe Williams Memorial Scholarship Fundraising Concert has graduated from its junior college venue and moved to the Blue Note Las Vegas, where it will be held Sunday.

Williams created the scholarship named for him in 1989. After his death in 1999 at age 80, it became a memorial scholarship in his honor.

This is the first year since the concert series was created that it will not be held on a campus of the Community College of Southern Nevada. Most years it has been at the 400-seat Nicholas J. Horn Theater on the school's West Cheyenne Avenue campus.

"The theater gets booked very quickly and it is hard to be flexible," said Richard McGee, a music instructor at the college and chairman of the fund-raising committee. "When we are trying to get stars to come in and perform we have to be flexible."

Performers at this year's event will include Jack Jones, with musical director Vincent Falcone; and Marlena Shaw, with musical director Johnny Pate.

Comedian-musician Pete Barbutti will be the master of ceremonies.

The committee jumped at the opportunity to use the Blue Note's 468-seat jazz club when it was offered.

"We have moved to a new level with this year's event," McGee said. "It is a nice venue, a different kind of thing. Hopefully, we will be able to expand the audience base."

Williams' illustrious career began in Chicago in the 1930s when he cleaned restrooms at the Kitty Davis nightclub and sang for tips. He rose to prominence as a vocalist with the Count Basie Orchestra almost 50 years ago.

In 1965 he and his wife, Jillean, moved to Las Vegas.

During the last two decades Williams was so in demand to perform around the world that he rarely played Las Vegas. However, he did concerts for the Las Vegas Jazz Society at UNLV's Artemus Ham Hall and his annual scholarship concert at the Community College of Southern Nevada.

"He established the scholarship and sang at the first fund-raising concert, but then he didn't do it for the next three or four years," McGee said.

In 1994, when the concert was first held at the newly constructed Horn Theater, Williams performed for the event again and continued to do so every year until his death.

"Over the years we have been really fortunate," McGee said. "We've had so much help from the musical community. Lots of people have performed for us, and many have donated their time."

Since Williams started the scholarship for incoming CCSN freshmen who qualify, more than $85,000 has been raised and more than 250 students have received awards, according to McGee.

He said candidates for scholarships "don't have to be a virtuoso to qualify for us to pay for a couple of courses each semester."

But, McGee added, during an audition they must demonstrate potential, "even if they are just getting started. Financial need also is considered."

Before Williams' death he made more than 30 albums and appeared in many television shows and motion pictures. In 1991 he was honored by the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Society of Singers for his efforts to raise money to help ailing, indigent singers.

Williams' hit songs included "Every Day I Have the Blues" with Basie and "A Man Ain't Supposed to Cry" as a solo performer. His albums include "Count Basie Swings, Joe Williams Sings" and "Just the Blues."

Williams made several appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson. In the 1980s Williams had a recurring role on "The Cosby Show," playing the father-in-law to Bill Cosby's character Cliff Huxtable.

Williams performed in many of the major Las Vegas lounges, including the Flamingo, the now-defunct Dunes and the MGM (now Bally's).

In 1993 he performed at the White House for President Bill Clinton, who called Williams "a national treasure."