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The Impossible Gentlemen
Inspirational, dazzling, melodically enthralling music from two of the UK’s finest musicians with two great stars of the US jazz scene.
Multi award winning pianist Gwilym Simcock has been named checked as a "genius" by no less Chick Corea and has worked extensively throughout Europe with the cream of British and international jazz artists including Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler, Lee Konitz, Bill Bruford’s Earthworks, Bob Mintzer and Bobby McFerrin. Mike Walker is regarded as one of Europe's most exciting guitarists and has worked with George Russell's the Creative jazz Orchestra, Vince Mendoza, Anthony Braxton, Bill Frisell, Tim Berne, and Mark-Anthony Turnage. Steve Swallow is regarded as the leading exponent of the bass guitar and his illustrious career spans decades of playing many of the great - Paul Motian, Lee Konitz, John Scofield, Carla Bley, Chris Potter and many others. Steve and his long-time friend and rhythm section partner Adam Nussbaum have worked on many projects together. Adam's work with Michael Brecker won a Grammy in 1988.
Awards
Winners of the Parliamentary Jazz Awards 2013
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The Impossible Gentlemen: Internationally Recognisable Aliens
by John Kelman
When you come out of the gate as strongly as The Impossible Gentlemen (Basho, 2011), you create a pretty high set of expectations for the follow-up. Of course, when it's a quartet of musicians this accomplished--a transatlantic, trans-generational group consisting of a living legend (bassist Steve Swallow), a less-known but equally active American cohort (drummer Adam Nussbaum), a rising British star (pianist Gwilym Simcock and fellow Brit deserving far greater recognition (guitarist Mike Walker--there's an intrinsic recipe for a sophomore ...
read moreGwilym Simcock, Mike Walker, Steve Swallow, Adam Nussbaum: The Impossible Gentlemen
by Chris May
The Impossible GentlemenThe Impossible GentlemenBasho Records2011 You may not have heard of The Impossible Gentlemen, for this is the group's first album, and you may not have heard of one of its two chief protagonists, as he has chosen to spend most of his career away from the metropolitan center of things. So here's a map reference, crude and approximate, but one that gets close to the buried treasure. Imagine guitarist ...
read moreThe Impossible Gentlemen (Simcock, Walker, Swallow, and Nussbaum) Announce US Release of New Recording.
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Two for the Show Media
"the quartet, fulfilled all its promise - and then some. Walker's contribution to this ensemble was nothing short of sensational, through plenty of quiet, but compellingly lyrical music, as well as some post-bop gallops and a spectacular roaring blues. Simcock set the improv bar early on with a surging, McCoy Tyner-like solo on his own convoluted-bop theme, and Walker's fast Laugh Lines revealed his rare balance of meticulousness, spontaneity, storytelling and tonal bite as a soloist." —The Guardian UK Gwilym ...
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I don’t think I’ll hear a more memorable gig this year so they are worth travelling a long way for.
Album number two - to be produced by Steve Rodby (interviewed here)- is being recorded in the next few weeks – I’m in a state of aural salivation. 29/06/2012 London Jazz
The upper echelon of the jazz world is a place of constantly shifting alliances. But even by those standards, the Impossible Gentlemen is a rare and fabulous group of talents. 27/06/2012 David Sinclair, The Times 4 stars****