Jack Reilly, the hunched, avuncular, dome-headed pianist and educator from Staten Island, is little known here, but deserved a lot more than two wet nights at a west London pub.

A fine composer as well as pianist, whose methods seem to roll Duke Ellington, Lennie Tristano, Bill Evans and George Gershwin into one, he appeared with a British ensemble including saxophonist Bobby Wellins. Reilly hasn't played in England for 13 years, but his work this week would easily have justified inclusion in the London jazz festival.

Originally a classical player, Reilly has appeared in all manner of illustrious jazz circumstances and then vanished again, into the study of Indian music, or writing jazz piano guides covering everything from swing to free-improv. He writes words as copiously as music, and has even been a mysterious liner-note scribe operating under the alias Sean Petrahn. However, there are no mysteries about the quality of his playing, which tells compelling stories by unpredictable and restlessly shifting means.

Wellins, a frequently enigmatic and fragmentary constructor of sax solos, balanced Reilly's richer and more comprehensive style well. Drummer Stephen Keogh was a little loud and taut-skinned for him at times, but deftly complementary on brushes. Bassist Dave Green underpinned the music with his customary flexible sonority. Wellins and Reilly conversed laconically on Slow Boat to China, with the pianist easing seamlessly in and out of a loping swing. A classical-sounding liturgical composition of seductive melodies and block-chord embellishments emphasised the composer's narrative style. A similarly episodic feature operated as a tribute to the late Ben Webster - passing through romantic movie-score sweeps, subtle piano swings, a plummy solo from Dave Green and a brief but eloquent finale from Wellins. The saxophonist delivered one of his best sax breaks on Blue Skies. Unspectacularly distinctive music-making.