[1] He began playing piano aged eight and joined a local ensemble at twelve; he also learned organ, and performed in church as a teenager.
[1] After the war, he returned to New York, where he enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music, formed his own trio ensemble, and recorded widely as a sideman.
[3] Disillusioned with the jazz life in New York, Williams decided to move to Florida, where he played for a time as a pianist in Miami Beach, then receded from performance.
[1] He also was a regular performer at an annual music festival in Hollywood, Florida, where he played with Bob Brookmeyer, Buddy DeFranco, Terry Gibbs, and Scott Hamilton.
[2] AllMusic described him as "Inventive, forceful, with a commanding sense of swing and, importantly, a workmanlike view of the true role of the pianist in both mainstream and bop settings".