PRESS QUOTES

"I feel confident that Simcock already deserves to occupy the inner circle of the great contemporary pianists along with Mehldau, Jarrett, and Rubalcaba" David Kane, Cadence U.S.A.

“Gwilym’s an original. A creative genius” Chick Corea

"A phenomenal talent, Simcock is a jewel in the crown of the country's jazz scene, and it was a joy and honour to have him playing such an integral role in this year's festival". Rob Garratt, Norwich Evening News

"Melodically rich, harmonically daring, rhythmically subtle, pianist Gwilym Simcock's quartet piece, “Longing To Be”, which kicked off last night's Queen Elizabeth Hall gig was one of the most jaw-dropping performances I've heard at this year's London Jazz Festival". Peter Quinn, The Arts Desk

"...an eclectic set that positions Simcock as a young Keith Jarrett in-the-making. It may be bold to compare Simcock with Jarrett, but it's apt. He plays nothing like the iconic pianist, but draws from equally broad sources when he improvises, creating music that's neither jazz nor classical by conventional definition, but liberally blends aesthetic choices from both. A major statement that spotlights his multifaceted interests with pristine clarity, on Blues Vignette, Gwilym Simcock has arrived". John Kelman, Allaboutjazz.com
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=34728

"the ever-awesome Simcock" John Fordham, The Guardian

"If this is just the beginning, the coming years defy imagining". John Fordham, The Guardian (of Gwilym's album Perception 16th Nov 2007)

"As a pianist alone, Gwilym Simcock would have deserved all the hype, but this performance confirms that he doesn't see his composer's identity as his second string". John Fordham 4 stars ****Guardian on 1st March 2006

"Saturday night's performers drew a rapturous response. Opening was pianist Gwilym Simcock's superb quintet with Stan Sulzmann (tenor/soprano), John Parricelli (guitar), Phil Donkin (bass) and Martin France (drums), for whom Simcock provided a harmonically rich, rhythmically flexible environment full of surprise and diversity.

Solos which became joint improvisations, free playing, tempo and metre changes managed with magisterial aplomb and some inspired rubato playing were typical of their approach. There were no weak links; Simcock showed why he is regarded as the wunderkind of the piano in Britain, Sulzmann and Parricelli are simply outstanding soloists, and France and Donkin offered a superbly pliant rhythm section".
Irish Times 2nd May 2006

"The Waterman band was preceded by recently risen star Gwilym Simcock's piano trio. Simcock has rocketed through jazz education and out into a creative world of his own almost overnight. In a varied set, he included a typically flowing tribute to his teacher John Taylor's harmonically demanding Ambleside Days. But it was a fast exploration of a standard (How Deep Is the Ocean) that cried out for a recording machine to be running, in its headlong momentum, occasional classical flourishes, and melodic queries resolved or left quizzically suspended in space".
John Fordham, The Guardian Nov 2005

“Young piano recruit Gwilym Simcock delivered the first of a series of glittering solos…a startled turn of the head and appreciative smile from the old master Konitz confirmed what a class act Simcock has so quickly become.”
The Guardian

“one of the great new discoveries of the London scene”, Gwilym Simcock
Tony Dudley Evans, Director, Cheltenham Festival

"Gwilym Simcock enhanced an already enviable reputation as one of the UK’s fastest-rising jazz stars with his 25th-birthday quintet gig" Chris Parker, Vortex Jazz Club

"Gwilym Simcock frequently dazzling, especially on a tumultuous unaccompanied feature" Review of Acoustic Triangle's new CD Resonance 4 Stars **** The Guardian

"From our own scene I'll be watching our finest young piano-player Gwilym Simcock (606 Club, Nov 16; Purcell Room, Nov 17) - don't miss him while you can still see him in venues without ushers".
Jamie Cullum Interviews by John Fordham and John L Walters,The Guardian

"Though still in his early twenties, Gwilym Simcock has already played with the cream of the jazz world, including Kenny Wheeler and Tim Garland, with whom he appears in both Bill Bruford's Earthworks and Acoustic Triangle. He looks like being a piano star of the future" The Independent

"Gwilym Simcock is a truly amazing piano player. His solo in John Taylor's Coffee Time was like nothing I have ever heard before - an exhilarating and intricate improvisation that sounded as if every note on the piano was being played. Several other times in the evening, the audience was treated to similarly dazzling explorations of themes".
Surrey Online