Shock! - Gareth Williams Power Trio - Observer

Don't let the band's name or the CD title mislead you into expecting 70 minutes of noise and fury. Instead you will find music that is by turns energetic and reflective, but always sparklingly melodic. Williams is a hugely gifted pianist, with an apparently endless fund of ideas, plus the detachment to organise them into coherent shapes. All 13 pieces, bar one, are his own compositions, of which the highlight is a touching tribute to Welsh poets Alun Lewis and Hedd Wyn. Williams's trio partners are bassist Laurence Cottle and master percussionist Ian Thomas.