Gwilym Simcock, Florian Ross & Iiro Rantala: European Piano Summit live at WDR 3 jazz.cologne 2010

Gwilym Simcock – p
Florian Ross – p, loop
Iiro Rantala - p
recorded live at Klaus-von-Bismarck-Saal, WDR Funkhaus Köln, October 28, 2010

1. On Broadway (Mann, Weill/Leiber/Stoller)
2. Plain Song (Gwilym Simcock)
3. Northern Smiles (Gwilym Simcock)
Gwilym Simcock, piano

4. Rondo # 1 (Florian Ross)
5. Mechanism (Florian Ross)
6. Round About (Florian Ross)
7. Nice to meet you (Florian Ross)
Florian Ross, piano

8. Köln (Iiro Rantala)
9. How low can you go (Iiro Rantala)
Iiro Rantala, piano

10. I love you (Gwilym Simcock)
Gwilym Simcock – p, Iiro Rantala – p

11. Bridges (Florian Ross)
Gwilym Simcock – p, Florian Ross – p

12. Voyage (Kenny Barron)
Florian Ross – p, Iiro Rantala – p

13. Bernd Boogie (Gwilym Simcock)
14. Bye, Bye Blackbird (Ray Henderson)
Gwilym Simcock – p, Florian Ross – p, Iiro Rantala – p

Gwilym Simcock did, after all, start out as a classical pianist. At the age of just three his mother and father (a church organist) recognised their son’s talent and very much encouraged it. By the age of seven Simcock started lessons at London’s renowned Trinity College of Music and then went on to Chetham’s School in Manchester. The effects of this early education can still be heard in Simcock’s music today – with his technique and ability to interpret, he could easily have become a successful classical pianist. But at the age of 15 he was given a cassette of jazz music by his improvisation teacher Steve Berry. This included tracks by Keith Jarrett and Pat Metheny that were to change his musical direction and inspire him to study jazz at the Royal Academy of Music where he graduated with distinction and won the coveted Principal's prize.  His most recent album “Good Days at Schloss Elmau” was released on January 7 an ACT.

Florian Ross, born in 1972, studied piano and composition in Cologne, London and New York with John Taylor, Joachim Ullrich, Bill Dobbins,Don Friedman and Jim McNeely.
While many of his European colleagues consider it a virtue to distance themselves from the mainstream, another camp makes an effort to continue the American jazz tradition in Europe as authentically as possible. Florian Ross's music is a refreshing break from this often embarrassing programmatic context. Ross not only ignores the demarcation line but
translates traditional aspects into a language of the present. His lack of interest in the idea of “higher, further, faster“ corresponds to his fondness for deeper sound regions and warmer timbres, as sounds oscillate between blue, orange and terracotta. "Mechanism" is his first CD as solo pianist and his first recording on Pirouet Records.

Iiro Rantala (born 1970, in Helsinki) has studied piano in the jazz department of Sibelius Academy and classical piano in Manhattan School of Music. He is one of the best known Finnish jazz pianists, both in Finland and abroad. He's a pianist and composer of Trio Töykeät, a Finnish jazz trio.
His newest solo record called "lost heroes" will be released on ACT in February.