Widely regarded as one of the most important and influential jazz drummers to come to prominence in the 1960s, he first gained fame in the band of trumpeter Miles Davis and was a pioneer of jazz fusion.

He found considerable fame at the age of 17 with Miles Davis' second quintet.

In 1969, he formed The Tony Williams Lifetime, with John McLaughlin on guitar and Larry Young on organ. Jack Bruce joined on bass later. Lifetime was a pioneering band of the fusion movement, a combination of rock, R&B and jazz.

In 1979, Williams, guitarist John McLaughlin and bassist Jaco Pastorius united for a one-time performance at the Havana Jazz Festival. This trio came to be known as the Trio of Doom and a recording of their performance was released in 2007.