Press
“Judging by this second excellent offering, Banks’ star is indubitably rising in the jazz firmament.”
“[Dan] appears to have assimilated it all into his style. If there are echoes of Red Garland, Horace Silver and Wynton Kelly in his playing, he also absorbed much from contemporary masters Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea, all the while keeping a close ear on his peers too. It is therefore no mean feat to come out of this with an emerging playing and writing style of one's own and produce modern hard bop of this quality.”
“Banks is a complex, probing, classically trained, experimentalist who can swing with the best of them when the groove is in.”
“Without mimicry, Banks reimagines the indomitable spirit of such masters as Red Garland, Wynton Kelly, Bobby Timmons, Horace Silver and their peers.”
— Jack Bowers (All About Jazz)
“[in] his debut as a leader, he shows mastery of the hardbop idiom as composer, soloist and bandleader...if this particular band plays near you, you should try to catch it; fans of the idiom won’t be disappointed.”
— Mark Gilbert (Jazz Journal)
“Simulated Cities, the second recording by British pianist Dan Banks' well-schooled quintet, consists of seven original compositions by the leader, the bulk of which call to mind the storied hard-bop conclaves of the mid 20th century while enwrapping the music in an up-to-date wardrobe tailored to accommodate today's more sophisticated and savvy audiences. Once past the tweaks, however, the thematic core remains constant: intrepid, straight-ahead jazz that has stood the test of time while pleasing enthusiasts of every age and circumstance. ”