Join Wayne Williams and 5th Sense for an evening of jazz at An die Musik Live!

Wanye Williams, vibes
James "JJ" Ratchford, tenor saxophone
Indra Caprio-Pretel, piano
Rayah Thomas, bass
Koleby Royston, drums

Wanye (Wan) Williams is a Chicago-based African American musician, who started as a classical percussionist but has dedicated the past two years to learning and performing as a jazz vibraphonist, drummer and pianist.

Although he began his journey in contemporary music only two years ago, Wanye has shown substantial growth and ability to work hard and learn at a fast pace. He has been part of many performance opportunities and programs such as the Jazz Institute of Chicago, Ravinia Jazz Scholars, and the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz (UCLA). He has already added some amazing milestones to his performance list including supporting great artists such as Braxton Cook and Shanta Nurullah and playing side-by-side with Isaiah Collier, Terell Stafford and Lisa Henry. He is also the recipient of the Kiewit-Wang Scholarship, awarded to him on the JB Pritzker Pavilion stage on Millenium Park during the Chicago Jazz Festival, one of the best soloists at the Jazz in the Chi Festival (Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC) at Whitney Young High School two years in a row, and most recently featured in Miami as a Winner with Distinction for the YoungArts Festival.

Wanye was selected as an ILMEA All-State (Illinois Music Education Conference) Jazz musician for the 2023-2024 season and was also invited to the Herbie Hancock Peer-to-Peer Tour in Wyoming with Terell Stafford. Wanye has performed at the Jazz Showcase, New World Symphony Center, Andy’s Jazz Club, Carnegie Hall, and multiple times at the Chicago Jazz Festival, and at Navy Pier for the Chicago LIVE Festival.

He is a graduate of the Chicago High School for the Arts (ChiArts) and currently attends the Peabody Institute on a nearly full ride scholarship. He also received a ful-tuition scholarship at Manhattan School of Music. He looks to follow in the footsteps of the musicians who inspired him the most: Joel Ross, Milt Jackson, Bobby Hutcherson, Stefon Harris, and Warren Wolf with whom he will be studying. He looks forward to using his music to inspire and teach people who are eager, spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, and help prove to the world that Jazz is not dead.

In-person seats: $20/ $10 full-time students with valid ID
Attendees receive a link to the recording to view for one week.

Streaming passes: $15
The link will remain active for one week after the show.

Donations welcome!