On the other hand, nine of the thirteen pieces on this beautifully-recorded CD are Douglas originals -- all of them in the spirit, if not exactly the style, of the honored pianist. While some of his earlier playing sounds intellectualized and -- here's that word again -- self-consciously post-modern, Douglas loosens the reins here and allows Williams's far-reaching musical spirit to flood in. She was a pianist/composer of great emotional intensity, and even her latter-day experiments in dissonance (she died in 1981) were suffused with the blues. Douglas responds in kind. Williams herself seems to stand behind Douglas's gospel-inspired "Blue Heaven," and another original, "Zonish," is so close to the conceptions of her fruitful middle period that it's scary instead of being trite.
The most challenging sideman job here, of course, falls to pianist Uri Caine, who manages to impart the Williams verve without consciously reproducing her playing style. Drummer Joey Baron and bassist James Genus fill out the rhythm section to nice effect, and the great affection with which the project was conceived and executed is everywhere evident. Clearly, Dave Douglas's deconstructive meditations on the jazz masters continue apace.
