In live performance, pianist Gareth Williams seldom fails to impress. Rather like the series of famous exchanges in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, “Who are these guys?”, when Williams solos live it usually prompts a ripple of, “Who is that guy?” among the audience, the expectation being that some big famous American name has somehow slipped in unannounced. Naturally modest and unassuming, Williams has surprised and delighted audiences the length and breadth of the UK. But there has aways been a gulf between the lasting impression he creates in live performance and his recorded work, until now. In what must surely be his magnum opus, Short Stories covers a lot of ground in terms of material, but what impresses most is the album’s clear statement of an artist who has reached artistic maturity. Influences, or the gateways all players must go through to reach a deeper understanding of their art, are now reconciled within a personal style: for example, Tyner/Coltrane patterns might briefly surface, elegantly-voiced rootless Bill Evans chords, smart Herbie Hancock voicings, but they are now in service of a broader personal conception, and become a means to an end, rather the end itself – demonstrated perfectly on ‘Derivatives.’ Bassist Palle Danielson appears on four selections, ‘Not Bossa,’ ‘Mr JT,’ ‘Buster Keaton’ and ‘For Palle’, while the ever eloquent UK bass maestro Chris Laurence is on the remaining eight selections, ‘Unwritten Hymn,’ ‘Islands of Men’ and ‘Short Story’ emerge among the most rewarding tracks of a very rewarding album.