Poncho Williams

Poncho Williams is a veteran jazz saxophonist performing and teaching in the greater Los Angeles area as well as nationally for the past 30 years. Poncho is a Detroit native and was groomed by prominent jazz masters from Detroit that included Herbie Williams, Marcus Belgrave, Sam Sanders, Donald Walden, and Teodross Avery.

In Addition to performing, Poncho is very passionate about music education for youth. Currently he is the founder and director of the “In The Shed” Summer Jazz Camp that is hosted in Los Angeles and Detroit. His teaching experience also includes serving as music director for the Great Books Summer Program at Stanford University, Pacific Hills School/West Hollywood, CA, Holy Name of Jesus Catholic School/Los Angeles, CA, Community Harvest Charter School/Sherman Oaks, CA, University of Alabama Birmingham, and Open LA Youth Orchestra Program/USC. In 2006, Poncho created the “Bonnie’s Pearl Annual Holiday Music Celebration” which was established as a non-profit event to raise money instruments for school music programs and scholarships for graduating high school seniors.

As an established musician, Poncho Williams is not only the band leader for his own band, Bonnie’s Pearl featuring Poncho Williams, he has also shared the stage with many talented musicians and artists that includes Wayne Henderson (Jazz Crusaders), Miki Howard, Ben E. King, “Mighty Mo” Rodgers, Malcolm Jamal Warner, and Nnamdi Asomugha. Bonnie’s Pearl featuring Poncho Williams has performed and headlined at the Long Beach Jazz Festival, Gardena Jazz Festival, Rosarito Jazz Festival, and the Blue Jay Jazz Festival. Notable corporate performances include Black Women Lawyers (BWL), California Association of Black Lawyers (CABL), Fox Rothschild Annual Emmy and Grammy Party, California Teacher’s Association, the City of Inglewood, and AEG.

Poncho Williams attended and graduated from West L.A. College (Associate of Arts, 2016), California State University Dominguez Hills (Bachelors of Arts – Music Major, 2019), and is a veteran of the United States Air Force.