Liz Story - Solid Colors (1982)

Out of the seemingly endless stream of solo piano demo tapes that were being mailed to Windham Hill in the wake of George Winston's initial success, there was one pianist that Will Ackerman was convinced was the real deal.  Born in San Diego in 1956, Liz Story was classically trained and had become set on a career in music following a meeting with her idol Bill Evans after a concert of his.

Story's debut album Solid Colors certainly provided much of the impressionistic accessibility that the Windham Hill audience were looking for - it's been described in retrospect as "the intellectual sister of Winston's December" - but didn't always land with more traditional jazz audiences when "critics, expecting her to tackle Ellington and Monk, panned her performances."

Their loss, to be honest: from this distance, Solid Colors is a great solo piano record, rooted in jazz, that prioritises melody and economy but doesn't dumb down her nimble touch.  Story might not be Keith Jarrett, but she's certainly more versatile than Winston, and breezes through nine originals and a closing cover of Evans' Peace Piece in a great sounding production.  Next time: Story broadens her sound a little with the help of an ambient-jazz legend.

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