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Gareth Williams: Short Stories

By Peter Jones
October 7, 2022
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If you have never heard of

Gareth Williams

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Gareth Williams, he is a quiet piano master who enjoys a bigger reputation with fellow musicians than with the public. A founder member and MD of the Nineties jazz-hiphop band

Us3

band / ensemble / orchestra

" data-original-title="" title="">Us3, and a former accompanist for the singer

Claire Martin

vocals
b.1967

" data-original-title="" title="">Claire Martin, he has worked at the highest level for 30 years, mainly in London. But London is a city blessed with many international quality jazz pianists, and Williams has faced formidable competition during his career. On the evidence of this album alone, he can hold his head high amongst them.

Short Stories consists largely of his own compositions, plus solo piano renditions of the ballads "Who Can I Turn To?" and "Too Young to Go Steady," with the latter featuring Williams' rather staccato vocal.

The drummer throughout the album, which was recorded in 2019, is

Martin France

drums
b.1964

" data-original-title="" title="">Martin France, and the bass chair is shared between veterans

Chris Laurence

bass, acoustic
b.1949

" data-original-title="" title="">Chris Laurence and

Palle Danielsson

bass, acoustic
1946 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Palle Danielsson—both of them legends in their own right. The latter, who plays on four of the 12 tracks, worked with

Keith Jarrett

piano
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Jarrett in the late '70s, and has that uncanny ability, so vital in a trio, to lock into the mind of the pianist and anticipate what he is going to do next. This is nowhere more evident than on the opener, "Not Bossa," which begins and ends out of time, the middle section picking up a subtle Latin rhythm.

There is a certain austerity in some of Williams' playing, a bright, cool, almost classical detachment. On the ballads and on the tracks "For Palle" and "Short Story," he reveals a more lyrical side, while "Buster Keaton" begins with pentatonic openness before the crazy clatter of France's drums indicates the sort of physical scrapes the Great Stone Face so often got himself into on screen.

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Track Listing

Not Bossa; Unwritten Hymn; Derivatives; Mr JT; Who Can I Turn To?; Buster Keaton; islands of Men; Another Waltz; One More Blues; For Palle; Short Story; Too Young to Go Steady

Personnel

Gareth Williams

piano

Martin France

drums

Palle Danielsson

bass, acoustic

Chris Laurence

bass, acoustic

Album information

Title: Short Stories | Year Released: 2022 | Record Label: Miles Music

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