DePaeaN
The David Rees-Williams Trio was formed in 1988 and features David Rees-Williams (piano), Neil Francis (bass guitar) and Phil Laslett (drums). Based in Canterbury, they have performed in an interesting variety of concerts and festivals over the years both in England and Spain, and now specialise in a programme that unites the best of classical and jazz. David's arrangement of Purcell's When I Am Laid In Earth from their CD Classically Minded was first played on Radio 3 during the summer of 2001 on Sean Rafferty’s programme In Tune. The response was extraordinary, resulting in the BBC being inundated with enquiries, and subsequently inviting them to record a commercial disc on their new Late Junction label.
Hidden Colours, released in May 2002, features arrangements of Purcell, Bach, Grieg, Fauré, Franck, Debussy and Ravel. It received excellent reviews in The Times and the Independent on Sunday and shortly after its release, was Editor's Choice in HMV Choice Magazine. It was then to become No.2 of HMV's 10 best Classical discs of 2002. It was also rated best of its genre by the Financial Times in its end of year disc review on world music of 2002.
In September 2004, Time Scape was released and includes arrangements of works by Ravel, Bach, Chopin, Stanford, Purcell, Buxtehude, Elgar, Warlock and Bossi. It received 4-star reviews in The Sunday Times, The Independent On Sunday and Jazzwise Magazine. It was also featured as one of the top ten CDs of 2004 by Clive Davis in the Sunday Times Culture magazine in December 2004.
The Trio's latest CD Thinking Allowed was released in February 2007. Featuring regularly on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM's new station, theJazz, it has been widely and unanimously acclaimed as one of the outstanding albums of its genre.
‘The David Rees-Williams Trio have just got better and better …… their new recording of jazz forays into the classical repertoire is just magical.'
Guy Dammann, The Guardian
‘Rees-Williams can cast a Bach prelude in exotic colours, but he and his colleagues are equally at home with Scarlatti, Grieg and Cesar Franck.’
Clive Davis, Sunday Times