I had the pleasure to be able to study with Tony Williams years ago in San Francisco. It was a dream come true. Tony is my all time hero, both as a drummer and musician. I was so scared to meet him after talking with him on the phone (I couldn't believe I was talking to the Great Tony Williams), but when I finally met him for the first time, he was kind, gracious, and friendly. When it came down to lesson time, he was dead serious. He was one of the great drum ambassodors, because he demanded that the drums were equal to any other instrument in the band, and as a drummer, that you respect the instrument, the history of it, and the music first.
He said to me, "I'm here because I stood on the shoulders of Giants".
Not enough can be said about Tony. The one thing that always makes me smile to this day is not really drum related, but one time, while standing outside of Drum World in San Francisco with Tony, we started talking about American football. He really knew a lot about it. He would talk about the old Quarterbacks he watched back in the day, the great teams and such, and I asked him who his favorite team was.
He said " The San Francisco 49ers, of course".
Being a huge 49er fan myself, I was absolutely beaming.
God Bless Tony Williams.