Joe Locke and Gwilym Simcock “… balance graceful sophistication, blazing improv and tight grooves, and the musical games they play are gleefully irresistible.”
— Michael Cragg, The Guardian
Gwilym Simcock (piano) and Joe Locke (vibraphone) will meet for a jaw-dropping duet set. LJN’s Sebastian Scotney states “They both have the imperative to play with unbelievable rapid-fire percussiveness, to go for the adrenalin thrill, where the listener can no longer hear which bit of the texture is coming from which player”.
5 September 2018, 8pm – Kings Place, London
Gwilym Simcock is one of the most imaginative and acclaimed composers and pianists in the UK and is able to move effortlessly between jazz and classical worlds. He has become renowned for this solo piano performances and released the Mercury Music Prize nominated solo album ‘Good Days at Schloss Elmau’ in 2011. Gwilym was the first BBC New Generation Artist from a jazz background and is currently touring with Pat Metheny, Antonio Sanchez and Linda Oh.
Joe Locke is widely considered to be one of the major voices of his instrument and known to be a soloist capable of stunning physical power and broad emotional range. He has released over 30 albums as bandleader in his four-decades spanning career so far and is a five-time recipient of the Jazz Journalists Association’s “Mallet Instrumentalist of the Year” Award. Joe has received two Earshot Golden Ear Awards for “Concert of the Year”, the 2013 Hot House NYC Jazz Awards for Best Vibes Player, and continuously tops critics and readers polls. In 2016 Joe was honoured with the induction into the Music Hall of Fame of his hometown Rochester, NY. He is also International Vibraphone Consultant at the Royal Academy Of Music, on a visiting basis and was awarded the title of Honorary Associate of the Royal Academy Of Music (Hon ARAM) in 2013.
The duo will play from a repertoire of own compositions and known favourites, taking the audience on a breathtaking ride of virtuosity and beauty.
The second part of the evening is a celebration of the new recording Hourglass (Basho Records) created by genre-busting Austrian composer Johannes Berauer featuring virtuosi Thomas Gould (violin), Gwilym Simcock (piano), Mike Walker (guitar), Martin Berauer (bass) and Bernhard Schimpelsberger (drums, percussion and Konnakol).
