For Ben Williams, jazz has always been a hotbed for cross-pollination. Coming of age in what he refers to as the “golden era of hip hop” and raised on an early diet of classic and modern R&B, it was the vibrant music scene in his native Washington, DC that left the most lasting impression on the 34-year-old bassist. “It’s a very musical town full of great musicians with a special kind of soulfulness,” he explains. “We didn’t separate ourselves. A lot of the guys you’d see on the straight-ahead gigs were the same guys playing with the hip hop and R&B guys, and they’d come to our gigs, hang out and sit in with us. It was a very diverse environment.” Coming up in that diverse environment has served Williams well, both as a composer and leader on two genre-defying solo albums [2011’s State of The Art and 2015’s Coming Of Age], and as an in-demand sideman for artists such as Pat Metheny, José James, Stefon Harris, and Steve Wilson. Currently, Williams’ th