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Jessica Williams was born on March 17, 1948 in Baltimore, Maryland. She began her music career young, taking piano lessons at the age of four and began classical training at the Peabody Conservatory of Music when she was seven. She moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during her teens and began playing with the quintet of former Miles Davis drummer, the Philly Joe Jones.

In 1977, moving to San Francisco, California, she played in various house bands, such as Eddie Harris, Dexter Gordon, Tony Williams and Stan Getz. She also became the house pianist for the Keystone Korner. Over the course of her career Williams has recorded for Candid, Fantasy, Timeless, Concord, Jazz Focus, Hep and MaxJazz record labels.

Jessica began her own record label in 1997, called Red and Blue Recordings, to release her own original material. In addition, she established her own publishing company, JJW Music, and runs her own Internet CD mail-order business.

She is a three-time Grammy nominated pianist, was awarded   a Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for composition and has performed at the 2004 and 2006 Mary Lou Williams Women In Jazz Festivals at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Pianist and composer Jessica Williams continues to perform, tour and record.

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