Twenty years ago or so I recall a happy Lee Konitz introducing Gwilym Simcock at the Pizza Express in Soho as the “wunderkind” at the piano. Now here’s mid-career Gwilym as half of a duo featuring a next-generation player, Emma Rawicz, who might also fit that description.

Simcock and the saxophonist have much else in common, including studies at Chetham’s School and the Royal Academy, and finding a home at the same record label, so the compatibility that is immediately apparent is no surprise.

A few concerts together and two days in the studio have produced an impressive debut recording, with a level of communication that only the best improvising duos achieve. Two compositions from each player plus treatments of Steve Wonder’s ‘Visions’ and one standard, ‘You’ve Changed’, add up to a 45-minute set that allows both to shine in a variety of ways. Simcock’s piano has truly ferocious rhythmic drive, emphasised on the rolling ‘Optimum Friction’, where Rawicz’s soprano saxophone takes flight, as well as his opener, ‘His Big Adventure’, inspired by his infant son. Rawicz’s ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’, another soprano feature, subtly evokes a new dawn, while ‘Drumbledrone’, harking back to her Devon childhood, benefits from a satisfyingly Jarrett-esque Simcock solo. Elsewhere, Simcock’s lush accompaniment allows Rawicz to float over the piano or punch out unison lines as the mood dictates.

As with most duos in this combination, the piano carries more musical weight: Simcock comps attentively when Rawicz solos, but not vice-versa. But it would be hard not to hear this as an equal partnership. The players are a fine match and although, like any successful duo, this is a partnership, not a competition, there is a feeling they are surprising and challenging each other that enlivens the whole set.

It’s an album with a delightfully positive vibe, the work of two enviably gifted musicians relishing each other’s writing and playing – and, perhaps, the prospect of the work they will go on to after this first rather brilliant collaboration.

Release date is 27 March 2025

from https://ukjazznews.com