"Fiddler" Williams was born in Oklahoma and is only one year younger than his home state. At 91 years of age, he still has that flash that made him a legendary swing musician; his chops are as sweet as ever. Backed by an excellent group of musicians that includes
Henry Butler on piano,
Joe Cohn on guitar and
Bobby Watson on alto sax,
Fiddler digs into ten tunes, assaying the groove with
Horace Silver's "The Preacher," Mercer and
Ellington's "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," and
Benny Goodman's "A Smooth One." He also works a touching cover of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," accompanied by
Butler on piano. The coolest deal on the CD is
Williams singing "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You." The whole thing -- the arrangement, his vocal and his solos -- conjures a bygone era of beautiful music that was "the" cool jazz before
Miles' cool jazz. This is one of the most elegant swing projects to be released in recent years and a valuable addition to
Williams' discography. ~ Philip Van Vleck