Ben Williams Debuts Album and Film in Santa Monica
Celebrate a coast-to-coast jazz venture: a new record and movie premiere at Moss Theater!
Sakshi holds a bachelor’s degree in Science and a master’s in Bioinformatics from Panjab University, India. Her passion for writing engaging articles has led her to pursue a career in content writing since 2020. Sakshi has written in various niches, including health and wellness, fintech, blockchain, and lifestyle.
Read full bio of Sakshi
Image: Instagram
Ben Williams, the Grammy-winning jazz bassist and composer, is set to bring his latest project to the West Coast. On June 14th at 8pm, Santa Monica’s Moss Theater will host the Los Angeles premiere of his new album and first film, both titled Between Church & State. Fans and music lovers can expect an evening that bridges live performance and cinema, as Williams blends his signature bass rhythms with on-screen storytelling.
Premiere Details
The event takes place at Moss Theater in the historic Santa Monica Civic Center. Tickets are available via jazzbakery.org or through the artist’s official channels.[Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ9chqpPJUW/] Doors open at 7:30pm for VIP reception, with the screening and live set kicking off at 8pm. Attendees will be among the first to experience Williams’s film—a visual exploration of the themes that inspired his album—and to hear select tracks performed live by Williams and his band.
Coast-to-coast Launch
Williams first offered a sneak preview at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., where a pre-release party on May 2 featured a special screening of the film, an impromptu performance, and an interview with the bassist.[Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJIMcPpOTAJ/] An earlier post teased the Santa Monica date, inviting fans with, “Let’s go!!! Tickets at benwilliamsofficial.com See you soon!!!”[Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJ1qwX5PnBO/] Between Church & State is now available on all streaming platforms, marking Williams’s fourth studio album release after 2011’s State of Art and 2015’s Coming of Age.[Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DJPQScwgnVH/]
Star-studded Lineup
Williams has enlisted some of jazz’s most sought-after talents as his special guests. Vocalist Syberspace (@syberspace) will take the mic alongside saxophonist Braxton Cook (@braxton_cook), keyboardist Brandon Coleman (@brandoncoleman), guitarist Andrew Renfroe (@andrewrenfroeguitar), and drummer Jonathan Pinson (@jonathanpinson). Together, they’ll bring the album’s moody textures and improvisational spirit to life onstage.
Bassist’s Journey
Born May 6, 1984, in Columbia, Maryland, Ben Williams earned his Bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music and went on to study at The Juilliard School. His debut album, State of Art, arrived in 2011 to critical praise. Over the past decade, Williams has recorded and toured with the likes of Esperanza Spalding, Joshua Redman, and Anderson .Paak. In 2013, the jazz community awarded him a Grammy for his work as a sideman on a Best Jazz Vocal Album. Between Church & State marks Williams’s transition into filmmaking, giving audiences a cinematic glimpse into the creative process behind his writing and recording.
Williams drew the film’s title from Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “We Wear the Mask,” quoting, “We wear the mask that grins and lies, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes…” in promotional materials. The poet’s words underscore themes of identity, faith, and societal boundaries that Williams explores across both album and film.
Fans heading to Santa Monica on June 14 can look forward not only to new compositions but also to a multimedia presentation that blends concert footage, narrative sequences, and candid studio sessions. The evening promises to be a landmark moment in Williams’s career—and a standout event in Los Angeles’s summer jazz calendar.
Whether you’re a longtime follower or new to Williams’s work, Moss Theater’s June 14 showcase is an opportunity to engage with an artist at the height of his creative powers. The fusion of live jazz performance with film projection rounds out a unique experience—one that welcomes audiences into the heart of Between Church & State.
Read full bio of Sakshi
