Emma Rawicz tenor & soprano saxophone
Gwilym Simcock piano
The duo setting can be like a breath of fresh air, particularly for musicians who normally deal with the complexity and intricacy of much larger ventures. Saxophonist Emma Rawicz, whose star has been rising all over Europe since she joined the ACT label last year, runs and directs her own big band. Pianist Gwilym Simcock, whose ACT album “Good Days At Schloss Elmau” was nominated for the Mercury Prize, and has toured the world with Pat Metheny, will at any one time be working on a whole array of orchestral composition commissions.
So, when both these musicians approach this new duo project, they do so in an energised and enthusiastic spirit: “It’s a really joyful experience and a positive environment, says Simcock, who adds: “we just get on so well, her writing is so advanced, her attention to detail extraordinary.” Simcock says he not only appreciates Emma Rawicz’s technical mastery of the instrument, particularly her ease in the upper registers, there are musical consequences too: “With her, the ideas just flow from person to instrument, and that’s the ideal we all aspire to.”
The respect is mutual. “I was already a fan,” remembers Emma Rawicz, “so playing in a duo really is a dream come true for me.” Despite coming from different musical generations, there are strong affinities in their musical pasts: Simcock and Rawicz even studied with some of the same teachers at the same institutions.
“That means we have some very similar reference points in our musical make up,” says Rawicz. “Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Ralph Towner, as well as the whole folk-inflected lineage of British jazz lineage through John Taylor, Kenny Wheeler and Norma Winstone. All of that had a big impact.” And both concur that the act of bringing improvisation into the duo of a melody instrument and piano – a setting with classical music associations – reconnects them with the classical music which runs deep in both of their pasts.
The original opportunity for the two to meet properly for the first time came at a concert in February 2023 at the Royal Academy of Music, a belated celebration of Simcock’s 40th birthday, for which he had been commissioned to write new music. Rawicz’s memories are of first being excited that she had been picked to play on such a special project, but then of being mesmerized by Gwilym’s astonishing directive energy and eye for detail. Later they talked, both liked the idea of a duo, which was also being actively encouraged by ACT boss Andreas Brandis. The duo brings out commitment, enjoyment and a sense of forward momentum for both of them. “It’s special when we meet,” says Simcock. “We have met up as often as possible, and the duo has evolved every time we got together,” Rawicz enthuses.
The critics have loved their early performances. “Rawicz and Simcock excelled, both in the calmer pieces and their more energetic forays. Their communication and conversational interaction were superb,” wrote Polish writer Krzysztof Komorek of their first concert in London. For Deutschlandfunk Kultur, their Jazz Baltica appearance was an undoubted highlight of the 2024 festival.
The album was recorded in the quietly idyllic surroundings of Curtis Schwarz’s studio in the West Sussex countryside in Southern England – and on the Steinway “D” which Simcock originally selected for the studio. The mood at the sessions was “relaxed, easy,” Simcock remembers. They had the freedom to work throughout long days and to take breaks when they wanted. The result is an album in which they have successfully achieved fascinating contrasts between moods of calm on the one hand, and “going for it big-time” on the other – an approach which they allude to in the album’s title, “Big Visit”.
The track titles on “Big Visit” often have a playful element. Gwilym Simcock’s “His Great Adventure”, the opening track, is written in dedication to the boldness of the pianist’s young son. Rawicz’s “The Drumbledrone” uses the Devonian word for a bumblebee; it reminds her of a time as a small child, before she had learned to distinguish Devonian – which her grandmother spoke – from standard English. Simcock’s “Optimum Friction” is a reference to the piano riff at the beginning having some “grindy” inner harmonies. There is a more wistful side too: “Shape of a new Sun” is a quote from the novel ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Stevie Wonder’s “Visions” has a clever rhythmic twist. The final track, the ballad “You’ve Changed”, Rawicz says, “brings back to me a particularly happy memory of having learnt the tune by ear as a student.”
What’s not to like? Emma Rawicz and Gwilym Simcock clearly both enjoy the duo setting. Critics and audiences are loving it. Their repertoire is growing all the time. They have started with a very strong album. It will be fascinating to watch this like-minded duo as it develops.
Credits:
Produced by Gwilym Simcock, Emma Rawicz Recorded in the U.K at Curtis Schwartz Studio by Curtis Schwartz on the 29th &30th July 2024 Edited and mixed by Gwilym Simcock Mastered by Curtis Schwartz
The Art in Music: Cover art by Paul Quick (1936–2023), ACT Art Collection
| Artists: | Emma Rawicz |
|---|---|
| Empfehlungen: | Next Generation |
| Format: | CD, Vinyl |
| Instrumentation: | Art of the Duo, Woodwinds & Brass |
Reviews
This outstanding duet album from pianist Gwilym Simcock and saxophonist Emma Rawicz emerged from a serendipitous meeting at Simcock’s 40th birthday concert at the Royal Academy of Music in February 2023. While it captures a musical partnership almost at its genesis, the album also showcases an already remarkably deep musical connection between the two artists.
Stevie Wonder’s ‘Visions’, the first of two thoughtfully-chosen covers, opens with Simcock’s Messiaen-inspired harmonies in a contemplative prelude. The second, the gorgeous Carl Fischer ballad ‘You’ve Changed’, beautifully demonstrates the duo’s musical chemistry. The remaining four tracks are originals, with each musician writing two pieces specifically for the other. Simcock’s ‘His Great Adventure’ is an expansive, Jarrett-influenced piece that evolves from a free-flowing rhapsodic introduction into a dynamic groove. Rawicz’s ‘The Shape of a New Sun’, inspired by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel Half of a Yellow Sun, carries themes of optimism and new beginnings. Her second piece, ‘The Drumbledrone’ (named after the Devonian word for bumblebee), draws from memories of her grandparents’ Exmoor farm. Simcock’s ‘Optimum Friction’ showcases his extraordinary ability to function as an entire rhythm section at the piano, with the pianist supplying ever-shifting blocks of textural detail. Balancing technical virtuosity with emotional depth, Big Visit reflects the joy and positivity that both artists consider fundamental to their musical philosophy.
Twenty years ago or so I recall a happy Lee Konitz introducing Gwilym Simcock at the Pizza Express in Soho as the “wunderkind” at the piano. Now here’s mid-career Gwilym as half of a duo featuring a next-generation player, Emma Rawicz, who might also fit that description.
Simcock and the saxophonist have much else in common, including studies at Chetham’s School and the Royal Academy, and finding a home at the same record label, so the compatibility that is immediately apparent is no surprise.
A few concerts together and two days in the studio have produced an impressive debut recording, with a level of communication that only the best improvising duos achieve. Two compositions from each player plus treatments of Steve Wonder’s ‘Visions’ and one standard, ‘You’ve Changed’, add up to a 45-minute set that allows both to shine in a variety of ways. Simcock’s piano has truly ferocious rhythmic drive, emphasised on the rolling ‘Optimum Friction’, where Rawicz’s soprano saxophone takes flight, as well as his opener, ‘His Big Adventure’, inspired by his infant son. Rawicz’s ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’, another soprano feature, subtly evokes a new dawn, while ‘Drumbledrone’, harking back to her Devon childhood, benefits from a satisfyingly Jarrett-esque Simcock solo. Elsewhere, Simcock’s lush accompaniment allows Rawicz to float over the piano or punch out unison lines as the mood dictates.
As with most duos in this combination, the piano carries more musical weight: Simcock comps attentively when Rawicz solos, but not vice-versa. But it would be hard not to hear this as an equal partnership. The players are a fine match and although, like any successful duo, this is a partnership, not a competition, there is a feeling they are surprising and challenging each other that enlivens the whole set.
It’s an album with a delightfully positive vibe, the work of two enviably gifted musicians relishing each other’s writing and playing – and, perhaps, the prospect of the work they will go on to after this first rather brilliant collaboration.
A genuinely impressive piece of work, intimate but ambitious and featuring intelligent original writing and inventive arrangements alongside some brilliant playing.