Juanita Williams

Juanita Williams spent the last 20 years as lead vocalist for the Airmen of Note, a prestigious Air Force Big Band originally founded by Glenn Miller. Williams began singing in the church, but her secular influences eventually stole her heart, and they included singers like Etta James and Aretha Franklin. However, Williams's voice, passion, and energy are completely unique.

Williams, who lives in a high-rise condominium in Alexandria, has attracted a devoted cult following from her international tours with the Airmen of Note, the U.S. military's premiere jazz ensemble, and in appearances at jazz and gospel festivals, but she has yet to gain the wider public recognition that her talent deserves. Her new CD, "It's Who I Am", the debut release of the Head Quarters ("HQ" for short) Records label, based in Fort Washington, Md., should remedy that situation. Williams transforms a program of familiar blues and ballads into a series of startling, soul-stirring affirmations, backed by a driving big band composed of musicians handpicked from the ranks of past and present military orchestras.

Offstage, the Miami-born vocalist is a soft-spoken, rather shy, and studious woman and her thirst for learning has not diminished.  She is currently working on a B.A. in psychology at George Mason University and thinking about pursuing a master's degree.

Music, though, is Williams' inheritance. Her grandmother, Bertha Baker, played piano and sang opera arias on trans-Atlantic ships. Her mother, Doris Williams, who toured the East Coast with a gospel group, the Southland Singers, served as her daughter's first vocal coach, teaching Juanita classical techniques for the proper use and protection of the voice. The Williams home resounded with sacred music as well as recordings by Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Carmen McRae.

In 1972, she enlisted in the Air Force, planning to combine military service with the chance to continue her education. She began as a drill instructor in Texas before, being transferred to a desk job at Beale Air Force Base in Marysville, Calif., where she auditioned for and subsequently joined 'Tops in Blue', an entertainment unit featuring singers, dancers, comics, and instrumentalists drawn from the Air Force's enlisted ranks.

Her eight-month tour of domestic military bases with 'Tops in Blue' led to assignments with other traveling shows, capped by 'Serenade in Blue', an extravagant revue with production numbers featuring singing and dancing choruses and a full string-and-brass orchestra. The unit traveled with seven vocalists. In 1989, she successfully competed for the slot of featured soloist with the 'Airmen of Note'. This position, which she held until leaving the service in 1996, put her in front of audiences throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.

In 1994, Big Mo Records, then based in Rockville, cut an album with Williams' gospel choir at the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Arlington. Company representatives were so impressed with her singing that they signed her as a solo artist. Big Mo chose the monochromatic repertoire--R&B, soul, and blues compositions--as well as the arrangers and musicians.

Williams, a powerful singer equally at home with jazz, blues, or gospel, has been highly praised by critics throughout her career.  No longer in the military, her debut album, "Introducing Juanita Williams" (1994), was nominated for a Grammy Award.

(Juanita Williams at 4th Annual Poconos Blues Festival 1995)