“I had never seen so many people playing the upright bass,” he said. “The sound of the instrument just really resonated with me.”

Since his early school days, Williams, who currently lives in New York City, has been pursuing his career in music wholeheartedly and won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition last year.

The final round of the competition was held in Washington, D.C., Williams’ hometown, which he said made the experience surreal.

“I can definitely say it was one of the best moments of my life,” he said. “I can still remember that moment when they announced the first place winner and they said my name. It just exploded and there was this huge roar.”

Besides the $20,000 scholarship prize, Williams won a contract with Concord Records, which he said is one of the best record labels for jazz.

Williams’ mother and Washington, D.C., resident Bennie Barnes-Williams, whom he is named after, said she never doubted her son’s ability to succeed, and expected him to strive toward his goal with everything.

“I said, ‘I will support you in what you want to become as long as you take it to the highest level possible,’” she said. “‘Whatever you want to be, don’t short yourself.’”

Barnes-Williams said her son was a visual artist since he was a young child and although she never imagined he would take to music like he did, she always provides support.

“It’s been very exciting for me, as a parent, to watch him,” she said. “What it says to me is all the things that I talked to him about, that I instilled in him, came out in fruition.”

When Williams attended college, he had to look on a map to see where East Lansing was. He primarily came to MSU because of Rodney Whitaker, director of jazz studies, whose reputation impressed Williams.

“None of my friends from back home went there,” Williams said. “But Rodney made me feel very much at home. He was very warm and welcoming and took me under his wing.”

Whitaker said he recruited Williams while he still was in high school and recognized his talent long before his college audition.

“He’s a natural musician and one of those talented people that could play any instrument he picked up,” Whitaker said. “From the first note I heard him play, I thought he’s going to be a star.”

During the summer, Williams put together his band, Sound Effect, and recorded an album that will be released next spring.

“It’s a mixture of a lot of different music I’ve been influenced by and grown up with and played with different people over the years,” he said.

From the time he graduated from MSU in 2007 to recently completing his master’s degree at the Juilliard School in New York City, Williams has been playing and traveling, including a tour in Europe with trumpet player Terence Blanchard, which ends this week.

Williams, whose undergraduate degree is in music education, said he imagines he will shift from performing to teaching someday.

“But right now I just always keep my options open,” he said. “I love performing and I would love to do it as long as I can.”