William Little was born in
Kansas City, Missouri, in 1912; he misleadingly claimed he was born in 1918 in later years. While young, his family moved to
Chicago, where he studied music under
Walter Dyett. He completed a degree at the
Chicago Conservatory of Music in the early 1930s and played in dance bands in Chicago during the decade. Around 1938, he became bandleader of one of those groups; this ensemble toured the U.S. and continued playing regularly at venues such as the
Savoy Theater and the 65 Club. In 1939,
Charlie Parker played in his band. Kolax formed another band in 1943 and again toured the
American south. He continued touring throughout the country and on military bases within the U.S. through 1946. In May 1946, his group broke up and Kolax joined
Billy Eckstine's big band with which he made his first recordings. Eckstine's band dissolved before the end of the year, so Kolax organized another band late in 1946 which lasted until May 1947;
John Coltrane was a member of this ensemble. After the demise of his band, Kolax returned to Chicago to play in small groups. In 1948, he played in
Sonny Parker's band and recorded for the Opera label as a leader and singer. He had a steady job at the Ritz Lounge in 1949 and played in
J.T. Brown's band in 1951. Establishing a new band of his own, he recorded for
J.O.B. Records in a session that featured his
blues singing. In 1952, he backed
Joe Williams on his singles for the
Checker label. While playing at the Paris Club in 1953, Kolax recorded with
Danny Overbea, also for Checker. That same year, Kolax and orchestra backed
The Flamingos on
Chance. He also led orchestras behind
Mabel Scott and
Rudy Greene. He recorded again for
Vee-Jay at the end of 1954 and in September 1955. In 2024, the Killer Blues Headstone Project placed a headstone for him at Oakland Cemetery in
Dolton, Illinois. ==Discography==