Leader of Malcolm X Drum Circle Passes

WP has obit for Percussionist Barnett E. Williams;
Beat Ran Through His Varied Roles

Barnett Edward Williams, 61, a percussionist who lived his life to the beat of African drums and who loved sharing the drumming tradition with other enthusiasts, died March 4 of a heart attack at the home in the District where he was born. He was a District resident.

Mr. Williams, who was artist in residence for Fairfax County's School Age Child Care Program, could be found on most Sunday afternoons in recent years in a drumming circle in the District's Meridian Hill Park, also known as Malcolm X Park. Sweat-soaked on a summer afternoon, his palms callused from decades of drumming, he and fellow percussionists would pound out a seductive beat on squat West African djembes or maybe Senegalese kimbe drums or tall, sleek congas, as well as on maracas, bongos, cymbals and cowbells.

Considered one of the elders of the drumming circle, he started drumming at the historic park along 16th Street NW in 1967, when he was 11.

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After graduation, he was lead percussionist with Gil Scott-Heron and the Midnight Band and performed with Donald Byrd, Oscar Brown Jr., Candido, Dr. Billy Taylor and Donny Hathaway. He composed and directed the musical score for Lorraine Hansberry's play "Les Blancs" and played drums for the movie soundtrack for "Cornbread, Earl and Me."

He also was lead percussionist for Vinnette Carroll's "When Hell Freezes Over, I'll Skate"; Billy Wilson's "Dancing in the Sunset"; and Debbie Allen's "Soul Possessed." He conducted workshops and lectures at more than 50 colleges and universities in the United States and Europe and often played at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the Mall.

His passion was pounding out the beat to rhythms that reached far back in African history, but his passion for teaching percussion and polyrhythms was almost as great. He taught African drumming at several recreation centers in the District and from 1994 to 1998 was artist in residence at the Kennedy Center.