Scottish Ensemble
Thu Apr 26,
7.30pm,
City Halls, Candleriggs, Glasgow,
£3-£15,
0141 353 8000;
Fri 27, 7.30pm,
Perth Concert Hall,
£3-£15,
0845 612 6322; Sat 28,
7.45pm,
Queen's Hall, Clerk Street, Edinburgh,
£3-£15,
0131 668 2019
The concept of a fusion of classical and jazz has been around for a long time but has proved remarkably difficult to bring off. For the most part, it seems that jazz and classical musicians just don't speak the same language.
One young musician who has already proved more adept at crossing the boundaries than most, however, is jazz pianist Gwilym Simcock. He studied classical piano and composition at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester before going on to the jazz course at the Royal Academy of Music in London. As his influences he cites not only jazz legends such as Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea but also classical figures such as Stravinsky and Ravel.
The classical world has certainly taken notice; last year Simcock was the first jazz musician to be chosen for BBC Radio 3's New Generation artists scheme.
Simcock joins the Scottish Ensemble (one of the most versatile and flexible of classical groups) in something of a genre-crossing adventure this month: a programme that alongside Mozart and Enescu features the Fantasy Variations on a theme of Mozart by Russian jazz composer Leonid Chizhik.
The programme also features Simcock's own new work for piano, vibraphone and strings.
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