Strings Summit: A Preview of Keller Williams & The Keels at Park West

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A multi-genre, multi-instrumental artist, Keller Williams makes music that appeals to an array of fans. Steeped in Americana, he makes music that proudly displays the influence of bluegrass and folk. And his improvisational prowess has gained a serious following in the jam-band community. Williams performs live in different contexts as well: he plays solo, as part of a duo and in bands and other musical collectives. He’s a prolific recording artist, too; since his 1994 debut, “Freek,” he’s put out more than twenty-five albums, each idiosyncratically titled with a single word.

2019 was an especially busy year for Williams. He released not one, but two albums, “Add” and “Speed.” Reflecting on his prodigious output, he says that he doesn’t consider himself “especially manic, but I’ve been really inspired to release projects.” He makes the point that the music industry is set up to expect mainstream artists to release new product every two years or so. “You push it and you push it for months before it comes out,” he says, “and then you tour it.”

But Keller Williams isn’t a mainstream artist, and he doesn’t feel the need to play by those rules. From the start, his albums have been released independently or on small labels, far from the machinery of the music business. “It would be nice to have people pay for my recording,” he admits with a laugh. “But I never really hit a chord with any kind of record companies. And in hindsight, it turned out to be a beautiful thing.” A quarter century after making “Freek,” he’s still around, while many of the record labels that flourished in 1994 aren’t.

And he has no shortage of fresh musical ideas. The making of an instrumental release from late 2018, “Sans,” left him inspired to do more. “It’s my only instrumental record, and it kind of walks the line between acoustic and electronic music,” he explains. But he was left with what he describes as “a bunch of songs that I had been working on for a while [but] that never had a home,” so he quickly brought them together as “Sans.”

Completing “Sans” led him to yet another album. “‘Sans’ means ‘without,’” he says. “Without lyrics. So the next one was ‘Add,’ where I put the lyrics back in.” But he was still on a roll. Another idea came along, one that he describes as “another excuse to hang out with Larry and Jenny Keel.” The musical couple has joined forces with Williams a number of times over the years, recording together twice before on “Grass” (2006) and 2010’s “Thief.” Both projects connected the dots between bluegrass and rock.

Williams says that when he plays with The Keels, the result doesn’t sound like any of his—or their—other projects. “We come together and do something different than we normally do,” he says. “And that’s exciting. The new record is called ‘Speed’ because we like to play really, really fast.” And while all three musicians have impressive songwriting credentials, “Speed” isn’t about that. “It’s very much a record for entertainment, not necessarily to focus on art or songwriting,” Williams says. “It’s definitely for the pure entertainment of ourselves… and hopefully, others.”

January 24, 9pm, Park West, 322 West Armitage, (773)929-1322; $25

Bill Kopp

With a background in marketing and advertising, Bill Kopp got his professional start writing for Trouser Press. His more than 2,500 interviews, essays, and reviews reflect Bill’s keen interest in American musical forms, most notably rock, jazz and soul. His work features a special emphasis on reissues and vinyl. Bill’s work also appears in many other outlets both online and in print. He also researches and authors liner notes for album reissues, and co-produced a reissue of jazz legend Julian “Cannonball” Adderley’s final album. His first book, “Reinventing Pink Floyd,” is due from Rowman & Littlefield in February 2018.