Williams to perform with the M.J. Williams Trio and the Williams, Roberti, White Trio. She has played house concerts and festivals such as Seattle's Bumbershoot and the New York City Women in Jazz Concert and spends her winters with her partner in Paris, performing at the legendary jazz club Le Sept Lezard. "I enjoy playing where there are people to listen to respond to the music," she said. That could be anywhere, as long as she's out of the hot sun. As a musician from the tiny town of Basin, where she helped found the Montana Artists Refuge, Williams doesn't feel isolated. Instead, she said she feels surrounded with dedicated and talented musicians. "Our interaction – that's what really keeps it alive for me," she said. "It would be a big struggle if there weren't dedicated people here."
Instead of accepting the relative ease of working as a musi- cian in an urban center, Williams is drawn to the spirit of Montana musicians, who go to great lengths to seek out others like them. "Just being located in Montana is a whole different way of looking at the music," she said. "It's pretty isolated here for jazz musicians."
M.J. Williams
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