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As their name suggests, The Impossible Gentlemen are no ordinary band. Crossing generational and geographical boundaries, this jazz supergroup is a unique experience both for the musicians and for audiences. This second album finds them branching out further, taking new risks and making music that is adventurous, accessible and tinged with sometimes surreal humour. In addition to the established quartet of Gwilym Simcock, Mike Walker, Steve Swallow and Adam Nussbaum, 13 Grammy award-winner and touring member Steve Rodby now takes on a greater role, serving as producer and playing bass on two tracks. He brings a wealth of ideas and experience from his career working with Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays. Three tracks are co-writes between Simcock and Walker. Both of these excellent musicians are used to more auteurist compositional scenarios, so this collaborative process took the musicians away from their comfort zones and kept the music fresh and exciting. Sometimes this was a matter of Walker adding key detail to a virtually completed Simcock tune (Modern Day Heroes), at others (Love in Unexpected Places), the pieces emerged naturally from rehearsals. Walker's interest in blurring the lines between jazz, rock, pop and classical music is an ever-present feature. Humour is also an important aspect of this album's idiosyncratic character. Heute Loiter begins with Mike Walker grappling for the right sound on his guitar, whilst Crank of Cam Bay was inspired by one of Steve Swallow's stories about a man whose hideaway vacation home is interrupted with the sounds of marauding hoards of tourist families and whom he heckles with a megaphone. It features the voice of Swallow himself. This is honest, joyful music that tells a strong story and takes the listener on a journey. A key aspiration for the band is longevity, and they seem poised to succeed. This is music that stands to be listened to repeatedly, yielding new surprises and greater detail with every play.

Track Listing

Press Quotes

The second album by the scintillating supergroup which blends the egghead groove guitar of Mike Walker with Gwilym Simcock's refined and resourceful piano plus a dynamic rhythm team of Steve Swallow (bass) and Adam Nussbaum (drums). The symbiosis produces an ensemble of ever-evolving creativity, which also manages to stop to smell the roses and have a bit of a laugh.

     —Chris Ingham, MOJO

'Impossibly Good'

     —Roger Thomas, BBC Music Magazine

this league of extraordinary gentlemen is a more balanced act, a conversation of equals that has deepened over time despite the varying ages of its members

     —Cormac Larkin, The Irish Times

'One of the best combos on the planet'

     —Tom Henry, Toledo Blade

'Internationally Recognised Aliens is a record that, like its predecessor, is destined for year-end 'best of' lists.'

     —John Kelman, All About Jazz

This set from the transatlantic heroes is alive all the way, every detail apparent, the music breathing as if it had all the time in the world. It's the first time the group has worked with producer and sometime Pat Metheny Group bassist Steve Rodby and o

     —Mark Gilbert, Jazz Journal

Mike Walker's acerbic picks, strums and funky rhythm guitar provide an unexpected opening...then sensitive, fluent and appealing....

     —Mike Hobart, Financial Times

Album number two is a sophistated melodic set from the brisk guitar funk of opener Heute Loiter to the ruminative piano of Ever After.

     —John Bungey, The Times

this is a fine second album from the Gents, and some of Walker's and Simcock's improvisations are awesome.

     —John Fordham, The Guardian

Take two British stars, guitarist Mike Walker and pianist Gwilym Simcock, add two US rhythm sages, bassist Steve Swallow and drummer Adam Nussbaum, and you have a true supergroup. The sequel to their dazzling debut album is no let-down, with similarly imp

     —Jack Massarik, Evening Standard (London)

The Impossible gentlemen have done, the well, impossible ...this is an altogether more bravura outing than their debut album ....This is one of those albums that makes you say 'yeah, I've gotta see this band in person'.

     —Stuart Nicholson, Jazzwise