Jazz breaking news: Simcock and Goloubev in a Reverie at Schloss Elmau
Monday, November 11, 2013
Acclaimed British pianist Gwilym Simcock and leading Russian bassist Yuri Goloubev (pictured) are set to release a new duo album on ACT entitled Duo Art – Reverie at Schloss Elmau, set for an autumn 2014 release.
This follows the pianist’s widely praised solo album on ACT, Good Days at Schloss Elmau, which was nominated for the 2011 Mercury Music Prize and was also recorded at the cultural retreat in located in the Bavarian Alps. This inspiring setting found Simcock exploring an intimate yet intense set of original pieces featuring his kinetic mix percussive grooves, neo-classical themes and high-flying improvisation.
The pair first met in 2005 on the recording of Klaus Gesing’s Heartluggage, while Goloubev has many years experience in both the jazz and classical worlds, being the principal double bassist for the Grammy-nominated Moscow Soloists, one of the premier chamber ensembles in classical music today. The bassist has worked closely with Simcock in the pianist’s trio alongside drummer James Maddren, and appeared on their Blues Vignette album from 2009 on Basho Records. The new recording draws inspiration from the stunning surroundings and features spacious improvisations and compositions such as the tune ‘Pastoral’, while their shared love of classical composers such as Prokofiev and Stravinsky, and 19th century romanticism also surfaces on much of the music.
Other pieces include the playfully conversational ‘Antics’ by Simcock, with its percussive funky vamp and the lyrical ‘A Joy Forever’, which features Goloubev’s sensitively-bowed arco bass. Elsewhere the bassist draws on the interweaving style of his hero Jaco Pastorius and his much loved work with Joni Mitchell as the inspiration for the way he and Simcock interact throughout the recording. He also contributes the classically influenced piece ‘Non-Schumann Lied’ inspired by his love of 19th century German composers. Another piece, ‘Flow’, finds Simcock in imperious classical-jazz form, blending the two idioms seamlessly on a stunning solo, while ‘Reverie’ by the 19th century Italian romantic composer and virtuoso double bassist Giovanni Bottesini, concludes the album.
– Mike Flynn
For more info go to www.actmusic.com