The similarities in the musical pathways between saxophonist Emma Rawicz and pianist Gwilym Simcock are a bit uncanny. Both studied at Chethams School Of Music and The Royal Academy, both have won a sleuth of UK Jazz plaudits including the Parliamentary Jazz Awards, Simcock in 2007 and Rawicz in 2021, both release through the seminal ACT records and both have had the ‘new rising star on the scene’ tag planted on them by those in the know.
You wonder if these similar experiences might have in some small way helped stoke the creative chemistry on their effervescent first album as a duo ‘Big Visit’ (out now on ACT). Connection, understanding and the fizz of gentle provocation are the elements which make these dream musical partnerships live up to the expectations and ‘Big Visit’ frequently exceeds the notion of what a Rawicz/Simcock duo might deliver.
The title comes from what the pianist called the “freewheeling abandon” they both felt recording the album over a packed two day session last July and it’s such exuberance that jumps out from the first cascading bars of His Great Adventure, the opening track. Written by Simcock and inspired by the fearless zest of his young son, the tune captures that burst of energy and thoughtful resolve with some gliding sax/piano choreography. Simcock’s playing, as you would expect in such a pared back combo, provides the underpinning for the piece. His patterns are trilled or tumbling, chords funkily hunched or urgently brisk, creating the canvas for Rawicz’s tenor to sing with delicacy and grace. When he makes space to solo you’re reminded of the flare and intensity of his awesome break-out album from 2011 ‘Good Days At Schloss Elmau’.
There are no signs of a senior/junior divide on ‘Big Visit’ though, despite Simcock’s longer time at the UK Jazz interface. The compositional credits are shared at two tracks each which allows for subtle shifts in tone and colour but doesn’t shake up the album’s consistency. There’s a real sonic synergy evident in this partnership.
The Shape of a New Sun, a Rawicz number, introduces her reflective tone with a bright melodic spring and moments of swooning balladry. The clipped, sprightly skip of Simcock’s piano lines urge the Rawicz soprano to beam joyfully throughout a song which tingles with elegantly crafted soft power. This rich pastoral feel to the Devonian saxophonist’s writing also oozes through on the naturally busy The Drumbledrone (or bumblebee if you’re not up with your West Country dialect). Here on this soundscape of warm meadows and memories Rawicz magically coaxes the most fragile top notes from her tenor while Simcock brings an added earthiness with a solo of Jarrett-esque bluesy rumbles and blistering arpeggios. It’s a breath-taking highlight amongst many on this increasingly distinctive collection.
The intuitive understanding between the two players at the heart of ‘Big Visit‘ gets a further tested on Simcock’s driving Optimum Friction. Here the duo play the tune’s tightly bunched main theme in unison with the flourish of a peak Zawinul/Shorter connection. The piece then blossoms with a series of propulsive improv responses, Rawicz’s fluttering soprano climbs and Simcock’s riff running dynamism both adding to the track’s uplift.
After this flurry of their own compositions the album eases into a pair of covers which show the duo’s empathic and considered interpretative touch. Their re-imagining of Stevie Wonder’s soul-jazz essential ‘Visions’ treats the melody with the reverence it requires and pushes the tune’s emotional possibilities through a couple of exquisite extended solo responses. Crucially and sensitively they leave the fabric and intention of the song intact. Carl Fisher’s enduring standard You’ve Changed is treated with equal integrity, a piece of swooning late night balladry which Rawicz and Simcock dust-off gently and drape with their own shimmering reflections.
Rawicz has talked about the shared influences that have helped cement this formidable partnership especially “Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Ralph Towner, as well as the whole folk-inflected lineage of British jazz lineage through John Taylor, Kenny Wheeler and Norma Winstone”. Such common reference points must have helped the partnership deliver such an impressive album considering they only first worked together at Simcock’s birthday celebration concert in 2023. Following this project the idea of performing as a duo progressed and ‘Big Visit’ is the emphatic result. Everyone has their favourite sax/piano jazz album, Anthony Braxton and Marilyn Crispell’s esoteric ‘Duets’, Stan Getz and Kenny Barron’s smooth flowing ‘People Time’ or Joshua Redman and Brad Mehldau’s stratospheric ‘Nearness’ maybe. Well as Emma Rawicz and Gwilym Simcock’s ‘Big Visit’ becomes more familiar it’s likely to be nudging into many listener’s ‘go-to’ lists.
from www.backseatmafia.com