Take Five With Edward Simon

While he may be considered as part of a new generation of "multilingual" musicians which have grown up studying classical, jazz and Latin American music, Edward is inventing a language that transcends any rigid genre.

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Take Five With Edward Simon

Published: June 21, 2011

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Meet Edward Simon:
The process by which Simon became an internationally regarded jazz musician began in the small coastal town of Cardon, Venezuela, where he grew up surrounded by the sounds of Latin and Caribbean music. Born in 1969, Simon credits his father, Hadsy, for developing his passion for music and supporting him and his two brothers, Marlon and Michael, to become professional musicians.

Upon arriving on the New York jazz scene in 1989, his reputation as a pensive, rhythmically astute, versatile player caught the ear of noted musicians Greg Osby Greg Osby
b.1960
saxophone , Jerry Gonzalez Jerry Gonzalez
b.1949
trumpet , Bobby Hutcherson Bobby Hutcherson
b.1941
vibraphone , Herbie Mann Herbie Mann
1930 - 2003
flute , Kevin Eubanks Kevin Eubanks
b.1957
guitar and Paquito D'Rivera Paquito D'Rivera
b.1948
saxophone , all of who would later employ him. In 1989 Simon took the piano chair in Bobby Watson Bobby Watson
b.1953
sax, alto 's influential group Horizon (1989-94), later moving to the Terence Blanchard Terence Blanchard
b.1962
trumpet Group (1994-2002).

Simon made his first recording as a leader in 1994 (Beauty Within, Audioquest), giving birth to the Edward Simon Trio—the same year he took third place in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. Since then he has founded, established and served as musical director of several jazz ensembles such as: the Edward Simon Quartet, Ensemble Venezuela and Afinidad.

Today, the Edward Simon Trio has become an established voice with five recordings and recent performances at such well-known jazz venues as the Village Vanguard, Jazz Bakery and Casa del Jazz.

Simon has recorded ten critically acclaimed albums as leader, including two New York Times Top Ten Jazz Records of the Year: Edward Simon (1995) and Simplicitas (2005). He has appeared as guest artist on more than 50 recordings, including Paquito D'Rivera's Grammy Award-winning Funk Tango (Best Latin Jazz Album, 2007) and several Grammy Award-nominated albums.

His performing career spans 20 years of international touring as pianist with prominent artists and ensembles. His recent collaborations include Don Byron Don Byron
b.1958
clarinet , Miguel Zenon Miguel Zenon
b.1976
saxophone , Luciana Souza Luciana Souza

vocal , Paquito D'Rivera and John Patitucci John Patitucci
b.1959
bass .

In 2010 Simon was named Guggenheim Fellow by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. He is currently a member of the San Francisco Jazz Collective, a prominent musician/composer jazz ensemble dedicated to creating new work and highlighting the music of historically significant jazz composers of the modern era. The Collective is comprised of "eight of the most in-demand (New York Times) artists performing today.

Instrument(s):
Piano.

Teachers and/or influences?
Simon attended the Philadelphia Performing Arts School, graduating at 15, then received a music scholarship from the University of the Arts where he studied classical music with concert pianist Susan Starr. Later he transferred to the Manhattan School of Music where he studied jazz piano with Harold Danko Harold Danko
b.1947
piano .

His musical influences include a vast array of artist and genres ranging from classical to Latin, folk and jazz. To name a few: Miles Davis Miles Davis
1926 - 1991
trumpet , Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter
b.1933
saxophone , Egberto Gismonti Egberto Gismonti
b.1947
guitar, acoustic , Hermeto Pascoal Hermeto Pascoal
b.1936
piano , Stravinsky, Federico Mompou, Steve Reich Steve Reich
b.1936
composer/conductor , Arvo Part Arvo Part
, Irakere Irakere
, Oscar DeLeon, Gurrufio. His pianistic influences include Bud Powell Bud Powell
1924 - 1966
piano , Thelonious Monk Thelonious Monk
1917 - 1982
piano , Keith Jarrett Keith Jarrett
b.1945
piano , Chick Corea Chick Corea
b.1941
piano , Herbie Hancock Herbie Hancock
b.1940
piano , Bill Evans Bill Evans
1929 - 1980
piano and Glenn Gould Glenn Gould
.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when...
I was on stage performing with Nuestro Grupo, a dance band formed and lead by my brother Marlon (drummer/percussionist), completely exhilarated by the experience of connecting with the other musicians in the band and the dancers on the dance floor. I was about 10 years old at the time and living in my home town Punta Cardón, Venezuela. This experience had a tremendous impact on me, and on top of that I was getting paid! I've always derived tremendous pleasure from performing and remember making a clear decision that I wanted to be doing this for the rest of my life.

Your sound and approach to music:
The music of Latin America, with its infectious rhythms, is one of my greatest resources. it offers an ocean of possibilities. I revel in the hybrids resulting from the integration of jazz improvisation and various ethnic rhythms and Latin song forms.

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