Williams – He’s ‘Mr. Piano’
by Barbara Stone, The Post-Star, August 30, 1975
Roger Williams proved that he is “Mr. Piano” to 2,500 fans Thursday night at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
His fingers glided over, jumped on, twinkled, and pounded the keyboard for more than two hours at the SPAC concert.
Backed up by a harmonious five-piece ensemble, Williams played a wide range of tunes from “I Honestly Love You” to “Yellow Bird” to Chopin’s “Polonaise” to “Canadian Sunset,” closing, of course, with “Autumn Leaves.”
In no way a Liberace, he ran onto the stage attired in a white jumpsuit with sequined autumn leaves at the V-neck and up the side of the flared pants.
“I’m not going to sing ‘King of the Road,” he quipped, explaining that fans and mailmen often confuse him with Roger Miller, who lives less than a block from the Williams’ California home.
He said, “I tell Roger ‘The autumn leaves who write me sure have a lot more experience than the green apples you hear from.'”
During the first portion of the program, the pianist displayed an easy, relaxed style, with the Ormandy Brook, undammed with the Maestro’s departure, babbling in the background.
After the intermission, he announced that the remainder of the show, well over an hour, would be made up of requests. Requests like “Born Free,” “The Way We Were,” “Deep Purple,” “Stardust,” and “Rhapsody in Blue” were called out.
Each title was recorded by the only girl member of the ensemble, Robin Kennedy, a xylophonist.
What followed was an uninterrupted hour of music. Perhaps because this is a common procedure at Williams’ concerts and some songs are old favorites, he was able to play more than 20 numbers without music.
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