The Impossible Gentlemen, joining UK piano star Gwilym Simcock and gifted Manchester guitarist Mike Walker with American bassist Steve Rodby and drummer Adam Nussbaum, have made a big impression in their six-year life – but they’ve never sounded quite as much at ease as they do here. They tour the UK in July and August, and Simcock is currently playing with guitarist Pat Metheny, a big influence on their sound. The classic Metheny Group’s songlike instrumental warmth is audible in the title track, but the glide of Walker’s bluesy solo and Simcock’s purposeful precision claim the piece as theirs. It Could Have Been a Simple Goodbye is a wistfully resigned ballad featuring a delectable Walker break; Simcock’s french horn skills warm A Fedora for Dora; Dog Time has a stomping horn hook (UK reeds player Iain Dixon is a game-changing new arrival), and Propane Jane is funkily Steely Dan-like. A big ascent for a band that was already at pretty high altitude.
