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Simians Of Swing

The Simians of Swing are no ordinary jazz group; they are story tellers in the great comic book tradition. Each number on this album is a soundtrack to a hero or villain; some of the characters are good, most are bad … but all are legends with tales of revenge, tragedy and romance. Set in a post-apocalyptic world the Simians narrate their stories through the medium of jazz. As for the Simians themselves, they are led by two urban warriors: Andy ‘Monkey’ Davies and Lorenzo Bassignani. Based in London, ‘Monkey’ is a trumpet player who dabbles in the magical American art form of Bebop. He also possesses deadly martial art skills, acquired while working for the Russian mafia back in the Cold War. Deadly with a trumpet, it is said he once kayoed a man out with a rendition of Charlie Parker’s ‘Confirmation’. The chump still hasn’t got up. ‘Lama’ is a bass player by night. By day he is always busy playing chess on his own, practicing his trade and meditating about the role of bass frequenicies in current geopolitics. Their associates for this album are hand-picked elite mercenaries: Benet ‘The Buffalo’ Mclean, Ivo Neame and Sam Leak on piano duty. Luca Boscagin and Ant Law on guitar. The beautiful Polly Gibbons is on vocals, while Saleem Raman on drums completes the line-up. Wicked. This album is not for the faint hearted; eleven villainous tales of the macabre. If you make it to the end …and that’s a big ‘if’ …we hope you’ve enjoyed it. Peace and Revolution The Simians of Swing

Simians Of Swing: Simians Of Swing

Read "Simians Of Swing" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
March 24, 2016

Sometimes the best legends are the ones you create about yourself. The Simians of Swing, whose debut release this is, understand. As this legend has it, the London-based band is co-led by an ex-member of the Russian mafia--skilled in the martial arts--and a man who spends his days playing chess on his own while meditating on the role of bass frequencies in global geopolitics. Their songs tell tales of heroes and villains--mostly villains and mostly, one assumes, old colleagues from ...

"'Gangster in Love' with a moody guest vocal from vocalist Polly Gibbons could be a latter-day James Bond title theme"" - JAZZ WISE

"Simians hit the ground running" - MARLBANK

"An ambitious and interesting debut" - JAZZ JOURNAL

"A majestic debut album!" - Erminia Yardley

"'more groove than a barrel of monkeys" - Jane Cornwell (EVENING STANDARD)