February 23, 1997 Anthony Tillmon “Tony” Williams, jazz drummer, died.

Williams was born December 12, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois but grew up in Boston, Massachusetts.

He began playing professionally at the age of 13 and at 17 joined Miles Davis’ “Second Great Quintet.” Davis called Williams “the center that the group’s sound revolved around.” Williams recorded his first album as a leader, “Life Time,” in 1964. Other albums include “Emergency” (1969), “The Joy of Flying” (1979), and “Young at Heart” (1996). Williams was posthumously inducted into the Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997.