Gwilym Simcock and the City of London Sinfonia: Instrumation
Author: Selwyn Harris
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Musicians: |
Thomas Gould (v) |
Label: |
ACT |
Magazine Review Date: |
February/2014 |
RecordDate: |
date not stated |
Now he's lost the tag of the new jazz piano boy wonder, Gwilym Simcock's new recordings seem to get much less attention, even sometimes overlooked. Unfairly so as he's had to grow up in the jazz public glare and as with many jazz artists his work actually seems to be improving over time. Here's a new concert of two works worth considering: a third-stream suite and chamber work. ‘Move!’ is a commission received from the City of London Sinfonia in 2011; his piano trio featuring Yuri Goloubev and drummer Martin France are the nucleus and because of this it works very effectively for the most part. ‘Clunky’ that kicks it all off is the highlight, a bit more rhythmically edgy than we've come to expect from Simcock, and reminiscent in part at least of contemporary new composer (and fan and collaborator of the pianist's) Mark Anthony Turnage. Simcock emerges out of the orchestral passages with a Bartok-ish vibrancy as well as being surprisingly Mehldau-like in places, before the theme is re-established. The five movements are framed by Simcock's solo piano interludes and they are a good idea to glue it all together, providing cues for the different characters of each of the five movements. Second piece ‘Columns’ is more romantic, and impressionistic in tone, but the piano stands out less and drifts aimlessly at times. This happens as well in the five movements that make up ‘Simple Tales’, which has less impact than the previous ‘Move!’ but is elegantly composed all the same for a smaller more classically-orientated chamber arrangement of cello, violin and piano trio.

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