Gareth Williams / Dave Green Duo Play Music Inspired by Bill Evans & Scott LaFaro, Cheltenham Jazz Club, The Victory Club, Cheltenham, 29/06/2026.

Gareth Williams – piano, vocals, Dave Green – double bass

Cheltenham Jazz Club’s final show before their annual summer break was a very special event paying tribute to the memory of the Club’s former chairman, Simon Radford, who passed away in 2025 at the age of seventy nine following a long battle with Alzheimer’s.

Cheltenham Jazz Club was formed in 1984 and Radford, one of its co-founders acted as chairman for the next thirty four years. During this period he helped to organise a phenomenal number of gigs, the figures quoted range from 427 to 518, and was instrumental in bringing such big American names as drummers Max Roach and Art Blakey, saxophonist Archie Shepp and pianist Kirk Lightsey to Cheltenham Jazz Club.

Radford was also a founding member of Cheltenham Jazz Festival and served on the Festival Committee for ten years. He was also a member of the committee for the regional organisation South West Jazz.

He was also a semi-professional drummer and performed on the jazz scenes of Brighton, London and Bristol before moving to Cheltenham where he was a member of Cheltenham Jazz Club’s ‘house trio’.

Tonight’s event was attended by Simon’s widow Karen and members of the wider Radford family. Also in attendance was the Mayor of Cheltenham, Martin Horwood plus a number of locally based musicians including Alex Steele, Dom Franks and Kim and Mike Cypher.

The current CJC chairman Spencer Evans introduced tonight’s event and spoke warmly about the work of his predecessor, emphasising the testimonial published on the Club’s website;
“Without Simon there would never have been Cheltenham Jazz. Thank you Simon.”

Karen Radford also talked articulately about her husband and his work for Cheltenham Jazz. A 2015 duo performance at the Everyman Theatre by tonight’s performers, the duo of Gareth Williams and Dave Green paying tribute to the great American pianist Bill Evans and the pioneering bassist Scott LaFaro, had been Karen’s favourite ever CJC gig and it was decided to invite the duo back to reprise their performance as a tribute to Simon. It’s not a show that the pair perform on a regular basis any more and it’s a measure of the esteem in which Simon was held that they agreed to revive it some eleven years later, Williams thought it might actually have been thirteen.

Both Williams and Green have been regular presences on the Jazzmann web pages over the years and I recently enjoyed a performance by Williams and the ‘house band’, the BMJ Collective, at the Black Mountain Jazz Club in Abergavenny.

A phenomenally gifted pianist and an in demand sideman Williams leads his own groups and the Jazzmann web pages have documented his work both as a leader and also with bands led by guitarist Jim Mullen, bassist Laurence Cottle, saxophonist Art Themen and drummers Clark Tracey and Gary Willcox.

As a leader Williams has only recorded sporadically and I think I’m correct in believing that his most recent album release is 2022’s “Short Stories”, a collection of music that was actually recorded in 2019 but which was subsequently delayed by the pandemic. However it was well worth the wait as this proved to be an excellent album that largely focussed on Williams’ original writing, but with a couple of jazz standard thrown in for good measure. The album featured a truly heavyweight line up with the late, great Martin France (1964 - 2024) at the drums and with bass duties shared between Chris Laurence and the late, great Palle Danielsson (1946 -2024).  My review of “Short Stories” can be found here;
https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/gareth-williams-short-stories

Apparently “Short Stories” was Williams’ first album release under his own name since “Shock!”, by his still ongoing electric ‘Power Trio’, with Williams on electric keyboards and featuring Laurence Cottle and drummer Ian Thomas, appeared on Linn Records way back in 2009.

John Fordham’s liner notes for the “Short Stories” album inform us that Williams has also worked with the American saxophonists Pee Wee Ellis, George Coleman and James Moody and with the great British vocalist Claire Martin. Others that he has performed with include blues /  jazz vocalist Zoe Schwarz and the band Us3.

Bassist Dave Green has been a mainstay of the British jazz scene since the 1960s and is still playing as well as ever at the age of eighty four. During the course of a career dating back more than sixty years he has played with a veritable ‘who’s who’ of jazz musicians from both sides of the Atlantic and appeared on literally dozens of albums. Listing them all here would take forever.

Capable of playing across a range of jazz styles his impeccable time keeping and innate sense of swing have kept him constantly in demand. He’s also a fluent and dexterous soloist and tonight’s pared down duo situation represented the ideal opportunity to appreciate all the aspects of his talent.

Tonight Williams and Green paid homage to two of the most influential players of their respective instruments, the Americans pianist Bill Evans (1929-80) and bassist Scott LaFaro (1936 – 61). Their legacy can still be heard in so much contemporary jazz and one wonders just what LaFaro might have gone on to do had he not been tragically killed in an automobile accident at the age of just twenty five. Together with drummer Paul Motian (1931 – 2011) Evans and LaFaro redefined the role of the ‘piano trio’ and their influence still resonates to this day.

Tonight’s programme featured material associated with the Evans trio almost exclusively, largely played in Evans’ style but with Williams and Green also bringing something of themselves to the performances, particularly through Williams’ use of vocals on several pieces. His tune introductions also put some contextual flesh on the bones as the duo navigated their way through the Evans and LaFaro songbook.

The evening commenced with the Rodgers and Hart song “My Romance”, a piece that Evans returned to throughout his career. This was introduced by a passage of unaccompanied piano, with Green subsequently joining on double bass, providing the rhythmic pulse as Williams proceeded to make the hammers of the Victory Club’s upright acoustic dance during the course of a dazzling piano solo. Green was also featured as a soloist at the double bass.

Williams praised Evans’ harmonic language and overall musical inventiveness, while also alluding to his melancholic nature – “he was half Welsh, half Russian, what chance did he stand?”. Williams cited Evans’ transformation of “Someday My Prince Will Come”, a song from a Disney movie, into a much loved jazz standard as just one example of Evans’ musical genius. “He added gravitas”, explained Williams, who again ushered in the piece unaccompanied, spacing out the chords in the style of Evans as Green joined the proceedings on double bass. Once again both musicians were featured as soloists, handing over seamlessly to one another in another delightfully intimate duo performance.

The first number to feature Williams’ vocals was the Jerome Kern song “In Love In Vain”, a piece that Evans actually recorded in the early 1960s,  post LaFaro and with Chuck Israels on bass.. The introductory verse featured just Williams’ piano and voice with Green subsequently joining for a more extensive piano/bass dialogue, with both musicians embarking on expansive solos. The performance resolved itself with the return of Williams as pianist / vocalist.

“Young and Foolish”, written by Albert Hague and Arnold B. Horwitt, was recorded for the 1959 album “Everybody Digs Bill Evans”, recorded by a trio featuring bassist Sam Jones and drummer Philly Joe Jones. Once again the piece was ushered in by a passage of unaccompanied piano and was notable for Green’s melodic bass playing, both as soloist and accompanist.

“Autumn Leaves”, one of the most familiar of all jazz standards was recorded by Evans, LaFaro and Motian for the 1960 release “Portrait in Jazz”. Williams spoke of Evans sprinkling his “melancholic dust” on the piece in an innovative arrangement, but the duo’s version of the piece was actually surprisingly playful with Williams’ soloing above Green’s rapid bass walk.

The first set concluded with a second vocal performance as Williams sang “Come Rain or Come Shine”, again ushered in by a voice and piano verse prior to the introduction of the bass. Williams’ vocals were subtly blues tinged and the performance also included instrumental solos from both musicians.

Set two commenced with an instrumental version of Cole Porter’s “What Is This Thing Called Love?”, another tune from the “Portrait in Jazz” album.

A second Jerome Kern composition to feature Williams’ vocalising was “Everything I Love”, a song dating back to 1936 and recorded by Evans with Motian and Israels for the 1964 release “How My Heart Sings!”. This followed a familiar pattern with a solo piano and voice intro followed by a more expansive duo passage featuring individual solos and finally a vocal led reprise.

The only Evans original was “Waltz For Debby”, a piece written for his then young niece and arguably his most famous composition. Although quite complex and difficult to play it’s also a charming and readily accessible piece. Evans recorded it many times,  including a version with vocalist Tony Bennett, with lyrics added by Gene Lees.  Performed here as an instrumental and featuring solos from both Williams and Green this item was particularly well received.

The duo took a break from the Evans / LaFaro repertoire as Williams sang the song “Too Young To Go Steady”, a piece that he performs regularly – it was played at Abergavenny – and which he recorded for the “Short Stories” album. The song was a hit for Nat King Cole and was also recorded by John Coltrane. This was another item that proved to be particularly popular with the Cheltenham audience.

Written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse the song “Who Can I Turn To” was performed as an instrumental in the now familiar format, but this didn’t stop Williams having a bit of fun with his Newley impressions, plus a reference to David Bowie, as he introduced the tune.

The evening concluded with an instrumental performance of “Without A Song”, performed in the familiar template with an unaccompanied piano intro followed by a more extensive duo passage incorporating individual features.

With the encouragement of a highly supportive audience Williams and Green gave a duo performance that combined skill and intimacy with considerable elan. Williams had performed several of these pieces at Abergavenny, possibly as a warm up for tonight’s prestigious event. He seemed more engaged tonight and his singing was more convincing. He’s a pianist first and a vocalist second and his Evans inspired playing was of a consistently high standard throughout. However it was the addition of the vocals that allowed the duo to place their own stamp on the project.

As for Green he was pure class throughout, the supreme accompanist and a highly accomplished soloist, the perfect foil for the ebullient Williams.

Green is a musician that I’ve seen performing live on multiple occasions but never got the chance to speak to – until now. The merch desk included a series of recently reissued archive material featuring Green’s playing and I treated myself to three of these, all live recordings, from the Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet (1964), Michael Garrick (1973) and Gordon Beck (1985). I got the last of these signed, it was the only one with a white cover, and enjoyed a lengthy chat with ‘The Guv’nor’, a brilliant musician and a real gentleman. It was an absolute pleasure to make his acquaintance. Having played a lengthy show in an exposed musical situation, which saw him on his feet all the time, he was now about to drive back to London. He was as sharp as a tack, and if he hadn’t told me his age I would never have guessed.

This evening’s performance represented a very fitting tribute to Simon Radford and was warmly appreciated by all who were present to witness it. I also enjoyed chats with Alex Steele, Dom Franks and Kim and Mike Cypher, like Dave Green all great ambassadors for the music we call jazz, both on and off stage.

However the night did end on a cautionary note with Spencer Evans warning that the future of the forty two year old Cheltenham Jazz Club may be in the balance as several of the current committee have been in place since the very beginning in 1984. New blood is desperately needed if Cheltenham Jazz Club is to continue long term.

Nevertheless the 2026 /27 season will get underway with a visit from guitarist Will Barnes and his quartet to the Victory Club on Monday 21st September 2026. Please visit http://www.cheltenhamjazz.co.uk for details.