John Towner Williams was born into a musical family in 1932 and attended UCLA for composition. He joined the U.S. Air Force Band and studied at Julliard, but switched to composition when he heard Van Cliburn perform. He gigged in jazz clubs in New York.
Johnny T. Williams was a jazz musician who performed in New York and Los Angeles, and used the genre's complex structures and techniques to enhance his compositions. His music is often neo-romantic, with a smoky swing club hidden in it.
John Williams is still active in the film and orchestral music worlds, with his most recent film score for The Fabelmans and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny being his last.