Photographs by Chip Pankey
I will admit that when I first heard that Jason D. Williams and his wife, Jennifer, were “revitalizing” an iconic Chickasaw Gardens home, there was a bit of a disconnect. I thought to myself: could this really be the famous Jason D. — pianist, singer, and songwriter extraordinaire — living in such staid surroundings? Could an electrifying rockabilly star beloved by audiences around the world reallybe sitting pretty in the leafy environs alongside the Pink Palace?
If you think that Jason D. is talented (and he is) I must introduce you to Jennifer, who is in her own right an incredible dynamo. In addition to managing Jason’s busy schedule, she is her own general contractor with numerous renovations under her belt, a real-estate agent with Hobson Realtors, and an Airbnb owner. Speaking of her renovations, Jennifer says “her hobby became her habit,” and she really doesn’t consider what she does “work” — though it sure sounds like it to us mere mortals. She told me that when she feels stressed and needs to decompress, she sits on the little red stool in her driveway and watches the world go by. Oh, and did I mention that the couple have a daughter, Jacklyn (33) and two sons, Colby (age 22), and Canyon (11), who take up a fair bit of time.
Their 6,000-square-foot, five-bedroom Cape Cod-style home was, even for Jennifer, something of a challenge. It needed some serious work, but at the encouragement of Jennifer’s mentor and one of Memphis’ finest home builders, Bubba Shepherd, she took on the project, which has been ongoing since they bought the property in 2016. The house has now been entirely rebuilt and, as she says, “no surface has been left untouched.” All windows and siding were replaced and a new roof installed, the kitchen was opened up and outfitted with all new cabinets, three bathrooms were renovated, floors were refinished, and every wall was painted. Whew! Jennifer likes to say it would have been easier to build a new home, but she loves old homes, “so that would be no fun.”
She adds that Jason D. was her partner in their home’s renovations, and they both have lost weight with all the work they have put in. Though he cheerfully says he “could live in a trailer,” when not on the road, Jason D. is in fact a great help with all of his wife’s projects. She says their biggest fights have been over paint colors. He is an artist and likes loud, bright colors. She prefers more subtle, subdued, and calm hues, and while she loves splashes of color, “just not on the walls.”
Photographs by Chip Pankey
Photographs by Chip Pankey
Photographs by Chip Pankey
Photographs by Chip Pankey
Photographs by Chip Pankey
Photographs by Chip Pankey
Photographs by Chip Pankey
Photographs by Chip Pankey
Photographs by Chip Pankey
Photographs by Chip Pankey
But make no mistake. They are a true team, and in fact there is a possible home improvement television show in their future, something on the order of HGTV’s Fixer Upper, which starred renovating husband-and-wife team, Chip and Joanna Gaines. The production company they have been in discussions with produces programming for the HGTV, DIY, and TLC networks.
The Williamses share a love of the outdoors, so it was perfect that their new home had a huge amount of property attached to it. In fact, it’s built on the second largest lot in Chickasaw Gardens. They’ve been slowly rediscovering the original garden which long ago was planned by a master gardener. Flora and fauna surprises were constantly unearthed.
The couple have a country place in Cherokee Village near Hardy, Arkansas, and they get there whenever their schedules allow. Jason D. Williams is a consummate birdwatcher and knows everything there is to know about birds. As we walked around the property together, I pointed to a little bird in a tree, and he immediately said, “That’s a House Finch, a carpodacus mexicanus.” I was mightily impressed that he instantly reeled off the Latin name!
Williams noted that bird watching for him has always been the greatest release and “a companion” in his travels. “Birds speak to me in so many ways,” Jason told me, and not surprisingly, bird motifs abound around the couple’s house — on fabrics, paintings and prints, kitchen canisters, you name it. In particular, he’s very proud of his many volumes of the Arthur Cleveland Bent book series on American birds.
Jennifer and Jason D. share a great love for animals. Two outdoor rescue dogs, Biscuit and Gravy, and four cats, including Persimmon and Pickles who came with the house, were in evidence when we visited. Jason is a country boy from El Dorado, Arkansas, and likes to say of his wife, “She loves creatures and that’s why she married me — the chief redneck of the whole tribe.” In fact, they both love to tell fascinating stories about their backgrounds. Jason D.’s parents were Baptist missionaries, and Jennifer says her mother was one of 16 children.
Jason D.’s rock-and-roll background has influenced the home’s décor, as you can well imagine. There are photos of him under glass with Bill Clinton and George Herbert Walker Bush (Jason D. says “music has no political boundaries” and is meant to bring people together), and there are three pianos in the living room and paintings of album covers on the walls. Sometimes their tastes diverge. Jennifer told me that Jason loves to visit Target and has strung up little plastic pineapple lights in one of her elegant new bathrooms. Hmm.
Jason D. is very proud of the fact that he is still rocking and rolling despite “a stent or two.” In fact, he has a new album in the works due out in December, which will be his tenth. As we were chatting in the living room, out of the blue he asked me if I liked Herb Alpert, and then sat down at the piano, switching into “Somewhere My Love” from Doctor Zhivago.
Hospitality, thy name is the Williams family, and the phrase “never a dull moment” aptly describes their life together. “You never know who is gonna turn up here for a party,” explains Jennifer. From the waves I observed and the honks heard, I can tell their Chickasaw Gardens friends are delighted to have them as neighbors.
Judging by the fabulous family photo on page 44, I think readers will agree with me that Jennifer and Jason D. Williams look right at home in the Gardens. I for one am proud to count myself as a new friend and now a devoted fan of this talented couple.
