Simcock/Walker/Swallow/Nussbaum

Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea, 23/07/2010

Normally when I go to a gig as a “punter” I just sit back and enjoy the music, but this was so good I felt that I wanted to share it with you. This Anglo American super-group consisting of Brits Gwilym Simcock (piano) and Mike Walker (guitar) plus New Yorkers Steve Swallow (bass) and Adam Nussbaum (drums) was initially convened for a short British and European tour. However the chemistry between the members of this transatlantic quartet has been so palpable that they have attracted critical superlatives wherever they have played and it seems that the project may be more than just a one off. Speaking to Mike Walker after the Swansea gig he informed me that the quartet had spent two days in the studio laying down tracks with a view to an album release, possibly on the British Basho label. The “live in the studio” approach adopted by the foursome was partly the result of economics and time constraints but was also a conscious attempt to capture something of the urgency and excitement of their live shows on CD. Walker also gave me a copy of his ambitious and well received new solo album “Madhouse And The Whole Thing There” which I’ll be taking a look at in due course. 

I was intrigued by this line-up as soon as it was announced and having read rave reviews of their London and Birmingham shows I was determined to take the opportunity of catching them live before it was too late. Swansea is a bit of a trek for me but the long drive was well worth it. It was my first visit to the Taliesyn Arts Centre, a modern and comfortable arts complex in the heart of the campus of Swansea University. I was impressed by both the auditorium and the café bar adjoining it which was large and airy and dispensed good value and good quality food and drink.

Seated just three rows back in the comfortable, banked seating I had a superb view of the band and of course the music they played was excellent. With the members of the quartet sharing equal billing it was appropriate that all four members brought at least one composition to the set list. However it was Simcock and Walker who shouldered most of the compositional responsibilities , each contributing a number of tunes that I’d guess were written specifically for this project. One thing that was apparent right from the start was just how “full on” this band could be, perhaps not so surprising with the muscular Nussbaum driving the band on from behind the kit but hardly a quality normally associated with the classically trained Simcock. Much of the material was “fusion” of a sort, but the kind of rigorous, intelligent music that Swallow’s old boss Gary Burton used to make in his prime. Rock rhythms and effects were used extensively but not in a grandstanding or blatantly obvious way. This was intelligent music with both power and precision and contained a high degree of improvisational content.

The first set began with Walker’s “The Clockmaker”, introduced by his own solo guitar and containing fine solos from himself, Swallow and Simcock. The way the four individuals combined and intertwined was hugely impressive and the interlocking grooves highly infectious. A great start.

Simcock’s “You Won’t Be Around To See It” continued the momentum. An ingenious piece borrowing from the methods used on Swallow’s “Real Book” solo album to subvert the chord changes of the standard “Softly As In A Morning Sunrise” this was a hugely exciting composition that paid tribute to Simcock’s enormous musical sophistication. Powerful grooves, rock influenced guitar, a sparkling piano solo and an explosive drum feature revealed a band revelling in a spirit of fun and musical daring.

Walker’s ballad “When You Hold Her” calmed things down a little with Simcock’s delicate piano intro, but the piece eventually took on an anthemic quality with Walker’s soaring guitar solo seeing him making intensive use of his sustain pedal. One of the most sophisticated “lighter wavers” I’ve ever heard.

The first set closed with another Walker tune, the appropriately named “Laugh Lines”, a piece of rollicking good fun packed with thumping grooves and dazzling, good humoured guitar/piano interplay. Simcock and Walker complemented each other perfectly, hardly ever getting in each other’s way, not always easy with the guitar/piano configuration. Another drum feature from the powerful but intelligent Nussbaum ended the first half on a suitably high note.

It was the drummer who took up the compositional reins at the beginning of the second set as his “We Three” was segued with Simcock’s “Play The Game”. Nussbaum’s piece was shimmering and atmospheric with the composer using soft head sticks. Freely structured, there was plenty of room for improvisation and group interplay. Eventually characteristically sparkling guitar and piano solos emerged out of this as the quartet slid into Simcock’s composition. Taken as a whole this was powerful and affecting stuff and received a rapturous reception.

Walker’s “Wallenda’s Last Stand” was dedicated to the late high wire walker Karl Wallenda. The composer had divested himself of his jacket by now and was clearly getting well into the music. Tonight was the first time I’d seen Walker play live for years (I think the last time was as a member of saxophonist Julian Arguelles’ Octet around a decade or so ago) and many reviews have commented on the fact that he’s a world class player. Tonight bore this out, he’s a fluent, intelligent guitarist who deploys his rock effects wisely. He looks remarkably like US guitar great John Scofield and his playing is at least the equal to that of the American. The critics are right, Walker’s right up there. “Wallenda..” was introduced by Walker on guitar and also featured Simcock on melodica with Nussbaum on hand drums as the quartet evoked the tango sounds and rhythms of Buenos Aires. Swallow’s bass solo featured his lovely trademark singing, high register sound, his fingers high up the neck of his custom made five string bass. 

Nussbaum’s blues “Hey, Pretty Baby” was far more earthy and featured a powerful drum intro and wailing blues guitar. This was followed by a brilliant rendition of Steve Swallow’s “Ladies In Mercedes”, which, thanks to the many “vocalese” versions that have followed singer Norma Winstone’s addition of witty lyrics to Swallow’s melody, can now be considered his “greatest hit”. The way the whole group dovetailed around the interlocking rhythms with Simcock reaching inside the piano for percussive effect was quite brilliant and the solos from Swallow (appropriately his best of the night as he blended melody and pulse), Walker and Simcock were dazzling.

This was ecstatically received, there was even audience whooping, and it was no surprised that the quartet were called back for an encore. This was the simply titled “Gwil’s Tune”, a gorgeous melody that owed something to the style of Pat Metheny. For those of us who had baulked at paying the exorbitant fifty quid that Pat was charging for his recent quartet performance at The Barbican this exceptional Anglo/American combo was a pretty decent, and more reasonably priced alternative.

The only quibble about this evening’s performance was that Swallow’s bass was lacking in volume and was too often drowned out in the mix. He’d sounded far better when I saw him with Carla Bley and The Lost Chords at Cheltenham Jazz Festival earlier in the year. This meant that some of the subtlety and delicate tracery that should have been heard in his duets with Walker was lost. This was a shame but overall the gig was still a tremendous success.

The all star quartet are due to feature on Radio Three tomorrow (26/07/2010) as part of a Jazz On 3 broadcast from Manchester Jazz Festival. Also any record that comes out is going to be essential listening. Every piece that was played here was well written, with Nussbaum’s blues perhaps the only slight item. With writing and playing of this standard any subsequent release is surely destined to be one of the albums of the year. Let’s hope this collaboration is more than just a one off.