THE IMPOSSIBLE GENTLEMEN – Let`s Get Deluxe
BASHO RECORDS: SR-CD 51-2
Mike Walker (guitar & dog whistle) Gwilym Simcock (piano, keyboards, French horn, flugelhorn, accordion, vibraphone, marimba, percussion) Iain Dixon (soprano sax, tenor sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute & alto flute) Steve Rodby (bass) Adam Nussbaum (drums) plus added string section
Recorded West Sussex, February 2015
The Impossible Gentlemen become more plausible with each new release and in this, their third for Basho, their distinctive and potentially disparate talents coalesce in a way that represents a convincing fulfilment of their stated ambition to create a readily identifiable group sound offering broad musical appeal. With the help of bassist Steve Rodby, ex Metheny alumnus and 14 times Grammy award winner, co leaders, Walker and Simcock, spruce up their act by moving the soundscape slightly more in the direction of a jazz-rock formula that will probably appeal to a wider audience than that provided by a select coterie of jazz fans.
To achieve this aim they augment their instrumental resources by adding the woodwinds of Iain Dixon to the line- up where he serves to double and enrich melody and bass lines whilst Simcock deploys his multifarious talents by dubbing in extra percussion and horn parts enhancing the music’s inner detail. Add to this sampled sounds and the occasional use of a string section and the group sound becomes somewhat more opulent than their previous offerings but not at the expense of the visceral drive and tension that is the hallmark of their collaborative enterprise.
A lot of the credit for the group’s volatile chemistry must go to drummer Nussbaum who is alive to every percussive possibility and applies his talent with both physicality and subtlety as the music veers through its many courses from through composed complexity, pastoral reflectiveness and flat out stadium rock whilst negotiating the asymmetric themes that characterise Simcock and Walker’s compositions.
Solos are all down to the co leaders, although Dixon does get to reel off a chorus or two of sweet toned soprano on the final track to great effect. Simcock’s keyboards emerge from the musical fabric in scintillating streams of inspired inventiveness before merging back into contrapuntal dialogue with Walker who in turn takes off into flights of searing guitar shredding whilst remaining always at the ready to reduce the temperature as inspiration demands.
Simcock, who has been involved in many other projects and is currently touring with Pat Metheny for whom he expresses a profound admiration, has with Walker and his American compatriots put together a truly unique group whose identity and reputation is signed, sealed and delivered with this brilliant new release. A series of live concerts is scheduled for this month and into the early part of August kicking off in Henley on the 16th. Seeing them in concert is an experience not to be missed, I assure you.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon
BASHO RECORDS: SR-CD 51-2
Mike Walker (guitar & dog whistle) Gwilym Simcock (piano, keyboards, French horn, flugelhorn, accordion, vibraphone, marimba, percussion) Iain Dixon (soprano sax, tenor sax, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute & alto flute) Steve Rodby (bass) Adam Nussbaum (drums) plus added string section
Recorded West Sussex, February 2015
The Impossible Gentlemen become more plausible with each new release and in this, their third for Basho, their distinctive and potentially disparate talents coalesce in a way that represents a convincing fulfilment of their stated ambition to create a readily identifiable group sound offering broad musical appeal. With the help of bassist Steve Rodby, ex Metheny alumnus and 14 times Grammy award winner, co leaders, Walker and Simcock, spruce up their act by moving the soundscape slightly more in the direction of a jazz-rock formula that will probably appeal to a wider audience than that provided by a select coterie of jazz fans.
To achieve this aim they augment their instrumental resources by adding the woodwinds of Iain Dixon to the line- up where he serves to double and enrich melody and bass lines whilst Simcock deploys his multifarious talents by dubbing in extra percussion and horn parts enhancing the music’s inner detail. Add to this sampled sounds and the occasional use of a string section and the group sound becomes somewhat more opulent than their previous offerings but not at the expense of the visceral drive and tension that is the hallmark of their collaborative enterprise.
A lot of the credit for the group’s volatile chemistry must go to drummer Nussbaum who is alive to every percussive possibility and applies his talent with both physicality and subtlety as the music veers through its many courses from through composed complexity, pastoral reflectiveness and flat out stadium rock whilst negotiating the asymmetric themes that characterise Simcock and Walker’s compositions.
Solos are all down to the co leaders, although Dixon does get to reel off a chorus or two of sweet toned soprano on the final track to great effect. Simcock’s keyboards emerge from the musical fabric in scintillating streams of inspired inventiveness before merging back into contrapuntal dialogue with Walker who in turn takes off into flights of searing guitar shredding whilst remaining always at the ready to reduce the temperature as inspiration demands.
Simcock, who has been involved in many other projects and is currently touring with Pat Metheny for whom he expresses a profound admiration, has with Walker and his American compatriots put together a truly unique group whose identity and reputation is signed, sealed and delivered with this brilliant new release. A series of live concerts is scheduled for this month and into the early part of August kicking off in Henley on the 16th. Seeing them in concert is an experience not to be missed, I assure you.
Reviewed by Euan Dixon