Quick Facts
Biography
Edward Simon (born July 27, 1969, Punta Cardón, Venezuela) is a Venezuelan jazz pianist and composer.
Early life
Simon was born into a musical family; both his brothers, Marlon and Michael Simon are also noted professional musicians. He was sent to the United States by his father at the age of fifteen to study classical piano at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia with Susan Starr. After that, he studied with Harold Danko at the Manhattan School of Music beginning in 1989. As a student he played with Kevin Eubanks and Greg Osby.
Later life and career
In New York City he played with musicians such as Herbie Mann, Paquito D'Rivera, Bobby Hutcherson, Jerry Gonzalez, John Patitucci, Arturo Sandoval, Manny Oquendo, and Don Byron. He was a member of Bobby Watson's band Horizon from 1989 to 1994, and since 2002 a member of the Terence Blanchard Group. He recorded his first album as a bandleader in 1994. In the same year he was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. Then the following year he composed his Rumba Neurotica for the Relache Ensemble. He also composed his Venezuelan Suite on behalf of Chamber Music America.
Simon has played on several Grammy-nominated jazz albums. Besides his trio he also leads the Sexteto Venezuela, the Afinidad Quartet, and the group Simon, Simon & Simon, with his brothers. He teaches at the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York.
Simon is currently an artist in residence at Western Michigan University.
Discography
| Year | Album | Record label | Session musicians |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Beauty Within | AudioQuest | Horacio Hernández, Anthony Jackson, Diego Urcola |
| 1995 | Edward Simon | Kokopelli | Larry Grenadier, Adam Cruz, Mark Turner, Milton Cardona |
| 1998 | La Bikina | Mythology | Adam Cruz, Ben Street, Mark Turner, David Binney, Pernell Saturnino, Diego Urcola, Milton Cardona |
| 2001 | Afinidad | Red | David Binney, Scott Colley, Brian Blade, Adam Cruz, Lucia Pulido, Adam Rogers |
| 2003 | The Process | Criss Cross | John Patitucci, Eric Harland |
| 2005 | Fiestas de Agosto | Red | David Binney, Donny McCaslin |
| 2005 | Simplicitas | Criss Cross | Avishai Cohen, Adam Cruz, Luciana Souza, Adam Rogers, Pernell Saturnino |
| 2006 | Unicity | CAM Jazz | John Patitucci, Brian Blade |
| 2007 | Océanos | Criss Cross | David Binney, Scott Colley, Brian Blade, Luciana Souza, Adam Rogers, Shane Endsley, Jesse Newman, Alan Ferber, Pernell Saturnino |
| 2009 | Poesia | CAM Jazz | John Patitucci, Brian Blade |
| 2010 | Danny Boy | Audio & Video Labs | Philip Donkin, Stephen Keogh |
| 2013 | Live in New York at Jazz Standard | Sunnyside | John Patitucci, Brian Blade |
| 2014 | Venezuelan Suite | Sunnyside | - |
| 2016 | Latin American Songbook | Sunnyside | - |
With Greg Osby
- Mindgames (JMT, 1988)
- Season of Renewal (JMT, 1990)
With Terence Blanchard
- Romantic Defiance (Columbia, 1995)
- The Heart Speaks (Columbia, 1996)
- Wandering Moon (Sony Classical, 2000)