Pianist Roger Williams ‘warms’ SPAC crowd
by Craig Wilson, The Saratogian
A near autumn chill swept through the Saratoga Performing Arts Center last night, cooling the feet of the audience of 2,500 but not the fingers of the star.
Pianist Roger Williams, billed as “Mr. Piano” and renowned for his classic version of “Autumn Leaves,” played for nearly two hours, replacing the chill of the night with the sound of good music.
At one point in his concert, Williams asked for requests from the crowd, and after five minutes of writing them down, he played non-stop for an hour as the audience settled back to hear their favorites, which ranged from “Melancholy Baby” to the theme from “Romeo & Juliet.”
“Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree” made its way into several of the songs in the lengthy medley, adding comic relief to the otherwise straight presentation.
Williams, dressed in a beige jumpsuit adorned with sequined autumn leaves, interspersed chatter with his playing and, in a tribute to his mostly middle-aged fans, called them “experienced autumn leaves.”
Williams was last in Saratoga six years ago, but the audience last night realized he had lost none of his talent over that span of time.
His selections ranged from “Gigi” to “Flight of the Bumblebee” to “Misty” and “Yellow Bird.”
Backed up by a five-man ensemble, Williams coordinated his act perfectly with the group, which included two guitars, a drummer, and a xylophone player.
One section of the show had Williams depicting the old-time piano players in the theaters during the era of silent movies. The ensemble was the audience as they looked up at the imaginary screen while Williams played the soft tickling sounds for a love scene and then plunged into the chase sequence, complete with boos and hisses coming from the ensemble.
Williams did not come back for an encore, although he did get a standing ovation. His concert ended when he finished playing favorites for nearly an hour straight.
The crowd knew it had no right to complain.
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