Long Time Comin’ Album Review
by Brad Walseth
March 29, 2011

Former Milwaukean Marty Williams is a fixture on the San Francisco Bay area jazz scene as a pianist, singer and entertainer. His performances have been described as a mixture of "Oscar Brown, Jr., Mose Allison, Monk and Redd Foxx" (?!) I don't know about the latter—I don't think I detected any blue language on this album (maybe he went family friendly on record?), but the other elements are certainly there. Williams’ smooth, yet gravelly and well-worn, easy going, yet lively delivery is a treat, and he tickles the ivories pretty nicely too.

The song list itself indicates an active and curious mind, with songs including Beatles' "Come Together," Cole Porter's "Love for Sale," "Caravan," "Monk's Dream," "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy," "Sunny," "The Look of Love" and the always enjoyable Eugene McDaniels-written rave up "Compared to What" ( a hit for Les McCann). The singer/pianist is backed by guitarist Eric Swinderman—who proves a nice counterpart with an attractive bluesy feel (immediately apparent on the heartfelt opening Oscar Brown Jr. classic "Brother (Where Are You)"), intuitive drummer Ranzel Merritt and warm-toned bassists Ruth Davies and Jon Evans. Throughout this enjoyable set of R&B-flavored jazz, William's joyous personality shines through on these tracks, and I'd bet my bottom dollar he's a hoot in concert. This album is a lot of fun and the next best thing to catching him live.