GWILYM SIMCOCK

...BLUES VIGNETTE

Gwilym Simcock
BLUES VIGNETTE

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Disc 1
GWILYM SIMCOCK - Piano
01 Little People6:56 LISTEN
02 Exploration on Mvt. II of Grieg Piano Concerto (Edvard Grieg) (arr. Simcock)8:34 LISTEN
03 On Broadway(Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil) (arr. Simcock)4:13 LISTEN
04 Improvisation I - Statues 3:06
05 Improvisation II Letter to the Editor 3:49
06 Improvisation III - Be Still Now 4:04
07 Caldera 8:38 LISTEN
08 Jaco and Joe 9:21

Suite for Cello and Piano

09 Part 1 - Kinship 14:57
10 Part 2 - Homeward 6:04

CARA BERRIDGE - Cello
GWILYM SIMCOCK - Piano

Disc 2
GWILYM SIMCOCK - Piano
YURI GOLOUBEV - Double Bass
JAMES MADDREN - Drums

01 Introduction 4:46
03 Blues Vignette 8:12 LISTEN TO THIS TRACK
04 Black Coffee (Sonny Burke) (arr. Simcock) 5:23 LISTEN TO THIS TRACK
05 Longing To Be 12:17 LISTEN
06 Nice Work If You Can Get It (G. Gershwin) (arr. Simcock) 6:35
07 Cry Me A River (Arthur Hamilton) (arr. Simcock) 8:05
08 1981 8:29

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22/01/2010 Ray Comiskey, The Irish Times 5 stars*****

The first of this double CD collection is a wonderful display of Simcock’s gifts as a solo pianist as well as his talents as a composer in jazz and classical idioms.

Working from set themes or creating spontaneous improvs, his playing has a rigorous sense of flow and structure. And Simcock’s classical roots are evident in a beautiful examination of Grieg’s Piano Concerto, second movement, and his own, in part Messaien-like Suite for Cello and Piano. Cara Berridge shines in the cello part.

The second CD, devoted to the trio with Yuri Goloubev (bass) and James Maddren (drums), is even better. The interaction is consistently stunning, while Simcock’s own playing borders on the sublime at times.

Rhythmically flexible, assured whether inside or out, the trio set down a marker that few others are likely to equal. One hopes they get the chance to build on it.

29/12/2009 James McGowan, Tribune

Gwilym Simcock’s latest Blues Vignette (Basho) adds to the British pianist’s growing reputation is an ambitious double album deftly covering both solo and trio formats with some vivid originals evoking Jarrett and Bill Evans while skilfully straddling the classical and jazz hemispheres.

24/12/2009 Ian Patterson, Allaboutjazz

The balance Simcock achieves between compositional structure and improvisation is the thread which runs through the trio numbers and is the unifying strand between the two CDs. Each is an inseparable part of Simcock's emerging musical identity. It will be fascinating to see how this trio develops over time, for its potential is clearly great. Undoubtedly one of the year's most satisfying releases.
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18/12/2009 Tim Stenhouse, UKVibe

This is an outstanding recording that deserves to see Gwilym Simcock catapulted to international stardom.

15/12/2009 Ian Mann, The Jazz Mann 4 stars****

“Blues Vignette” is a superb achievement, impressive in its scope and ambition and flawless in its execution.
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28/11/2009 John Bungey, The Times 4 stars****

Further evidence of the young pianist’s abundant talents is revealed on two CDs that range from interpretations of standards and Grieg through to his own suite for cello and piano plus jazz compositions. Solo and with his trio, he can dazzle, blurring distinctions between jazz and classical. You can hear a debt to Keith Jarrett, particularly on a bravura version of On Broadway, and perhaps Brad Mehldau, too. Nevertheless, a powerful individual voice is emerging.

25/11/2009 Ivan Hewitt, The Telegraph 4 stars****

The biggest star among Britain’s young pianists now needs a 2-CD set to contain his ambitions. It contains tributes to Weather Report, brilliantly virtuoso takes on standards like Black Coffee, and big-scale classical compositions including a piano-and-cello suite. On the solo CD Simcock sometimes slips into a Keith Jarrett-like portentousness, but the Trio CD is a delight.

20/11/2009 John Fordham, The Guardian 4 stars****

Simcock's imagination really does seem to flow freely across classical and jazz without noticing the joins. Simcock, Goloubev and James Maddren celebrate the trio tradition of Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett on some vivid originals here - and the young leader sounds as if he's wearing his immense knowledge more lightly, yet using it more incisively, than ever before.

19/11/2009 John Kelman, Allaboutjazz

Simcock, Goloubev, and Maddren demonstrate the same empathic, unfettered interaction that can be heard in contemporary trios by pianists John Taylor, Bobo Stenson, Brad Mehldau, and, of course, Jarrett. Simcock's sponge-like ability to assimilate new ideas into a cogent voice makes him an easy partner with every one of these significant pianists. A major statement that spotlights his multifaceted interests with pristine clarity, on Blues Vignette, Gwilym Simcock has arrived.
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13/11/2009 Jack Massarik, Evening Standard****

Britain's rapidly maturing jazz maestro refuses to be categorised. Greig's piano concerto sits comfortably between fluent originals on this ambitious double album, his most impressive work yet.Heard solo, with strings and in a trio with drummer James Maddren and Russian bassist Yuri Goloubev, his playing pulses with life and covers a wide emotional range. Some listeners liken him to fellow Brit John Taylor but his combination of lyricism and surging vitality more strongly suggests Chick Corea and the late Michel Petrucciani.
And in his spare time, this world-class improviser also plays some nimble French horn.

13/11/2009 Mike Hobart, FT 4 stars ****

Prize-winning UK pianist Gwilym Simcock’s double CD seamlessly blends classical roots and jazz references with both depth and stature.

09/11/2009 Chris Parker, Vortex Website

"As well as possessing an exquisite touch and an extraordinarily fecund musical imagination, so that robust yet delicate embellishments flow from his fingers in breathtaking profusion, he is also a great listener, allowing the sensitivity and power of both Maddren and Goloubev (whose arco technique in particular is matchless) to shine alongside his own, so thaton both solo/duo and trio discs, Simcock demonstrates just why he has established himself so quickly as a world-class talent. Warmly recommended".

01/11/2009 Clayton Hirst, WalesHome.org

"Blues Vignette will cement Gwilym Simcock’s reputation at the vanguard of the contemporary British jazz scene." Read full article

01/11/2009 Selwyn Harris, Jazzwise 4 Stars****

"Gwilym Simcock has moved up to an entirely new level"

01/09/2009 Helen Mayhew, JazzFM

“Just when you thought the piano could go no further in jazz one emerges to raise the bar of invention and virtuosity still higher. On this recording Gwilym Simcock seems to have breached a dam of inhibition and let loose a flood of music that is truly exhilarating”