Biography (cont.)
Any baseball fan knows how Bernie Williams
plays. The superstar New York Yankees center fielder
has consistently flashed grace, passion, disciplined
focus and a remarkably fluid sense of rhythm in feats
both at the plate and in the field that have made him
truly the heir in his role to no less than Hall of
Famers Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle.
Now music fans
will know the same qualities. “The
Journey Within,” Williams’ debut album,
spotlights his impressive gifts as a guitarist and
composer. Due July 15 from renowned GRP Records, it’s
a set of shimmering instrumentals – seven original
Williams compositions plus versions of Billy Joel’s “And
So It Goes,” Kansas’ “Dust in the
Wind” and Brazilian legend Baden Powell’s “Samba
Novo.”
The music taps his long love of salsa
and blues as well as the classical training he received
as a teen
at the Escuela Libre de Musica High in his native San
Juan, Puerto Rico, at the same time that he was drawing
the attention of major league scouts as a local baseball
sensation. The album, produced by Loren Harriet, spotlights
the guitarist’s keen sense of melody as well
as his vibrant lead playing, with sterling support
from such star guests as Panamanian salsa giant Ruben
Blades, jazz banjo master Bela Fleck and Puerto Rican
salsa legend Gilberto Santa Rosa, as well as such top
support players as bassist Leland Sklar and drummer
Kenny Aronoff. Also making an appearance is Hiram Williams,
Bernie’s brother, an accomplished cellist. The
colorful cover portrait was painted by famed sports
impressionist Leroy Neiman.
And giving the project an
enthusiastic endorsement is no less than one of music’s
Babe Ruth’s – Sir
Paul McCartney, who became a Yankees fan when he attended
his first baseball game ever in 2001, the Yankees against
the Arizona Diamondbacks in the World Series, and was
told of Williams’ musical abilities.
“
When I heard this CD, I was blown away by his talent,” says
the former Beatle. “Go Bernie, it’s a home
run!”
In fact, McCartney was so impressed that he recently
signed Williams to a publishing deal with his company,
one of the largest and most prestigious music publishing
firms in the world.
While few young athletes have either the inclination
or time to pursue serious study of music, Williams
credits his musical side for playing an important part
in his baseball success.
“
Music gives you rhythm, makes things flow, a lot of
things you can utilize in baseball having a musical
mind,” he says. “You have coordination,
the rhythm, timing. There’s nothing better than
having everything flowing in the game, and musically
speaking, you can compare it to being in the zone,
everything flowing, like it’s effortless. And
it happens in both fields.”
In fact, when he’s on the field, he’s often
got a tune in his head.
“
Most of the time they might be bluesy tunes because
I’m in some sort of a slump,” he jokes. “I
think about musical ideas all the time. They’re
always popping into my head. Every major event that
would happen in my life I would try to create a melody,
a song that would make me think about that moment.”
He’s
not talking about baseball moments, though he has plenty
of note, including four World Series
titles, five American League championships, four All
Star game selections, a career batting average of .308
(including the 1998 American League batting title)
and four Gold Gloves.
Rather, music is something he
uses to express more personal feelings.
“
Almost all the songs on the CD are from my experiences,
things with my wife, my son and my father, things like
that,” he says. “I think it’s a very
powerful form for me to express my feelings, more than
I could express by words. Everyone that knows me knows
I don’t really talk that much.”
This is
most prominent in three songs: “Para
Don Berna” was written for his father, who passed
away in May of 2001. “I don’t think I’ll
ever have closure on that,” he says. “But
it was a good way to express all that I was feeling
at the time and a way to say thanks for all he had
meant to me in my life.”
With “Bernie Jr.” he
created a musical portrait of his 12-year-old son. “I
tried to make it sound like there was duality in the
structure,
because when he was a little kid he was like that,” Williams
says. “He could be a fireball and have this passionate
view to life, and at the same time he could be such
a loving and caring kid. Actually that defines his
personality now, too. It really touched me in a special
way to see that he had developed and was learning at
such a young age. He inspired me to write about the
opposite sides of his personality. Maybe I’ll
have to write another song for his teenage years!”
And “Just
Because” is a love letter to
his wife. “In the melody line I sort of raise
the tone three times, but each time I do it differently,” he
says. “It’s saying, ‘Thank you for
being who you are,’ and then next time I say
it on a different tone and try to pick something else
to say about her. Then it goes into the bridge, and
then back to the beginning and the solo with a celebration
tone, really saying, ‘Thanks, and I love you,’ and
all the feelings are crammed up into one big structure
at the end.” Other pieces show his humorous side
(“Stranded
on the Bridge” and the 007/martial arts joint
tribute “Enter the Bond”) and introspection
(“Desvelado,” which means sleepless). And
then there’s the opening track, “La Salsa
En Mi,” which sets the album’s tone as
an homage to his homeland.
“
That’s a tribute to my home town,” he says. “I
grew up listening to salsa, that’s the main rhythm
we have. With all the musical influences I have, I
wanted to make that tune more of a celebration or tribute
to the way I see salsa. The title means “The
Salsa in Me,” but it can also be interpreted
as “The Salsa in E” – the song is
in the key of E, and it’s like do-re-mi, the
musical note.” But salsa is just one style of
music that runs in Williams’ blood.
“
When I was in school I was more into the classical
guys,” he says. “We listened to Bach and
Mozart, Haydn, Scarlatti, Vivaldi. And a few years
after I graduated from high school I picked up an electric
guitar in New York and got hooked, astounded the way
I could change the sound with pedals and all that.
Then I got into the blues and started listening to
Muddy Waters, the Kings – B.B., Albert and them,
Eric Clapton, Robben Ford. Then I was introduced to
jazz by way of the blues, listening to the big guys,
Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker. As far
as pure guitar people I listen to a lot, it’s
been Robben Ford, Pat Metheney, George Benson, Alan
Holdsworth, Mike Stern, Scott Henderson, people like
that. They’re not afraid to try different things.
I always want to keep my mind challenged with the music
I listen to.” |
