GWILYM
SIMCOCK
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PRESS QUOTES “Gwilym’s an original. A creative genius” Chick Corea "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) Britten Sinfonia
uncovers hidden treasure This was the only piece that incorporated Evans' legacy while sounding like it was centred in 2007.
DOWNLOAD REVIEWS IN FULL AS .PDF DOWNLOAD SHORT LIST OF REVIEWS AS PDF GWILYM FEATURED IN OBSERVER MUSIC MONTHLY NOV 1ITH GWILYM FEATURED IN AUGUST EDITION OF JAZZWISE AND IN THE OCTOBER ISSUE OF PIANIST MAGAZINE
Cheltenham Festival 2007 "Gwilym Simcock put extra gloss on an already shining Cheltenham reputation (last year he was hugely impressive both supporting the enigmatic Lee Konitz and in his own right leading a band including Stan Sulzmann) by performing his ‘Lichfield Suite’ with a stellar big band, including Sulzmann, Mark Lockheart, Julian Siegel, John Parricelli, Laurence Cottle, Martin France et al. – a sixteen-piece outfit, including two french horns. Judiciously balancing carefully weighted composed elements with just enough solo space to infuse the whole with unpredictability and individuality – not to mention, at times, irresistible pep and infectious swing – Simcock, who sensibly devolved conducting duties on to Jules Buckley, while keeping an eye on proceedings from the piano, drew rousing yet elegant performances from all his soloists, contributed a number of characteristically cogent solos himself, and overall, proved himself to be a classy jazz composer in a medium that dearly needs such infusions of fresh talent if it is to be kept vibrant. Simcock’s arrangement of ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’, too, subtly and delicately brought out all the song’s gentle power without a hint of sentimentality – Simcock is a class act, and richly deserved his recent ‘Jazz Musician of the Year’ award from the All-Party Parliamentary Jazz Appreciation Group". Chris Parker, Vortex website Tour with the Scottish Ensemble "Bringing together separate traditions, particularly the jazz and classical ones, can result in a mixture rather like oil and water. Not here, though. Perhaps it's because the ensemble's guest, pianist Gwilym Simcock, works in and understands both these genres so fully, but with the help of a band that's really on top of its game, his Point of Contact for Piano, Vibraphone and Strings achieved a beguiling ease of movement and a real unity of purpose. Simcock is a marvellous player. In his expansive solo work, his meticulously plotted duetting with Ben Bryant on vibraphone and his writing for strings he showed great imagination, wit and conceptual awareness. It was all fine stuff but the way he brought the piece to its conclusion, with a surge of energy, was sheer class".Rob Adams, The Herald 4 STARS **** "a very attractive fusion that integrated the various strands of the music in satisfying fashion. It was lyrical rather than spiky, and the improvised passages featuring Simcock and Bryant blended seamlessly into the overall structure in convincing fashion" Kenny Mattieson, The Scotsman 4 STARS **** THE
NEW AMBASSADOR FOR JAZZ "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". "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".
“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.”
“one of the great new discoveries
of the London scene”, Gwilym Simcock "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 GWILYM FEATURED IN GERMANY'S LEADING MUSIC MAGAZINE FONOFORUM AND FROM OTHER GERMAN MAGAZINES Fono Forum, März 2008 Jazz thing, Feb/März 2008 Spiegel Online, 29. Februar 2008 Jazzthetik, April 2008 JazzCity.NETedition, April 2008 Jazzpodium, März 2008
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