Live At London Jazz Festival: Road Tales

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‘The Interloper’ is deliciously and fragmentedly hip, like a Monk piece full of contemporary timeshifts and rhythmic contortions; ‘Oddity’ is a reshuffled 12-bar, while ‘Scrunge’ (a regular Williams... — Jazzwise, March 2021, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 20th Nov 2020
Catalogue No: WR4768
Label: Whirlwind Recordings
Length: 62 minutes

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Jeff Williams: New and Old

Work length13:37

$2.05

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Jeff Williams, John O'Gallagher, Josh Arcoleo, Sam Lasserson

Jeff Williams: The Interloper

Work length6:28

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$1.50

Jeff Williams, John O'Gallagher, Josh Arcoleo, Sam Lasserson

Jeff Williams: Borderline

Work length8:53

$1.50

$2.30

Jeff Williams, John O'Gallagher, Josh Arcoleo, Sam Lasserson

Jeff Williams: Oddity

Work length6:46

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Jeff Williams, John O'Gallagher, Josh Arcoleo, Sam Lasserson

Jeff Williams: Under the Radar

Work length4:48

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Jeff Williams, John O'Gallagher, Josh Arcoleo, Sam Lasserson

Jeff Williams: Scrunge

Work length4:31

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Jeff Williams, John O'Gallagher, Josh Arcoleo, Sam Lasserson

Jeff Williams: Search Me

Work length2:53

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Jeff Williams, John O'Gallagher, Josh Arcoleo, Sam Lasserson

Jeff Williams: She Can't Be a Spy

Work length6:45

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Jeff Williams, John O'Gallagher, Josh Arcoleo, Sam Lasserson

Jeff Williams: Double Life

Work length8:09

$1.50

$2.30

Jeff Williams, John O'Gallagher, Josh Arcoleo, Sam Lasserson

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About

Ohio native Jeff Williams cut his teeth playing with the likes of Stan Getz and Dave Liebman in the febrile atmosphere of 1970s New York, but London is now his second home and his free-ranging creativity both as drummer and as composer, coupled with his dedication as a teacher and bearer of the tradition, has embedded him deep into the UK scene.

This recording features an all-star cast of his longtime collaborators, with altoist John O'Gallagher and Josh Arcoleo on tenor making a ferocious twin-horn frontline and virtuoso bassist Sam Lasserson completing the rhythm section. With all the compelling immediacy of a live concert recording, 'Road Tales' documents how the shared experiences of being a band on the road for a decade or so has shaped a musical narrative, as each member tells the story of those experiences, and shows how they established their own identity within the compositions.

Williams' compositions give his band a wonderfully diverse span of moods and colours to work with, and they rise to each occasion magnificently. 'Road Tales', his sixth release for Whirlwind, marks the latest stage on a continuous musical journey for Williams and his musical partners.

"I love to have a band that is able to take chances - It's wonderful the way this group can develop my compositions, with their ability to take things as far as possible without going over the cliff. There aren't many actual on-going bands in jazz anymore. The fact that this is one is something I'm proud of. That's the only way a performance of this type becomes possible."

Reviews

March 2021

‘The Interloper’ is deliciously and fragmentedly hip, like a Monk piece full of contemporary timeshifts and rhythmic contortions; ‘Oddity’ is a reshuffled 12-bar, while ‘Scrunge’ (a regular Williams vehicle like several on this set) develops in cryptic short figures over a proddingly arrhythmic bassline and Williams’ implacable backbeat, with Arcoleo barrelling between soul-sax rocking and wild multiphonics. The only downside to this fine set is how much mourning for the absence of full-on live jazz in a small room it induces in the present era.

January 2021

Live At London Jazz Festival: Road Tales highlights how drummer Jeff Williams’ sharp compositions and his tricky and assertive swing feel should be just as appreciated today as his work with Stan Getz and Dave Liebman was in the ’70s.

Live At London Jazz Festival: Road Tales

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