Biography:  En Español |  In English
Mr. Simon's touch, light and warm, allows for his music to drift calmly, taking its time to get to where it has to go.
-The New York Times
He doesn't go in for dazzle and fleet-fingered runs but contents himself with digging in
and mining the music for drama and invention. He often turns these rural sounds into deep emotional statements.
-Jazz Journal International
Pianist Edward Simon is present in the moment, the only way, he believes, that enables a musician
to express himself sincerely. After fifteen years of touring in bands led by Kevin Eubanks, Bobby Watson, Paquito D’Rivera, and Terence Blanchard, the
moment propels Simon in a new direction, one that better nurtures his own voice.
"Being present in the moment is the objective. This means focusing on the process and not the goal. The process of becoming. The
more present you are, the more detail you find. And it is the work of an artist, through his or her chosen form of art, to observe closely and represent in great
detail what he sees."
-Edward Simon
Edward Simon was born in the coastal town of Punta Cardón, Venezuela where he grew up in a family of musicians surrounded by the sounds and rhythms of Latin and Caribbean music. The talent he showed as a youth led his father to send him to study in the US, where he won scholarships in classical piano at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia under the tutelage of concert pianist Susan Starr and in jazz at the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Harold Danko. While a student in his teens, Simon performed with Philly guitarist Kevin Eubanks and saxophonist Greg Osby.
 | Edward, Michael &
Marlon |
| "He who gradually progresses along the path of music, in the end attains the highest perfection."
-Hazrat Inayat Khan |
Settling in New York City in 1989, he performed with many jazz masters, including Herbie Mann, Paquito D'Rivera, Bobby Hutcherson, Bobby Watson, Terence Blanchard, Jerry Gonzalez and The Fort Apache Band, Arturo Sandoval, Many Oquendo and Libre and Don Byron. Simon quickly discovered that if he wanted to use jazz as a medium of expression he needed to immerse himself in this tradition. Membership in Bobby Watson’s
influential group Horizon (1989-94) and the Terence Blanchard Group
(1994-2002) were instrumental to this end during his formative years. The experience of playing with Paquito D'Rivera proved to be pivotal, as it sparked an interest in the music of his native country.
Simon made his first recording as a leader in 1994 (Beauty Within, on Audioquest), giving birth to the Edward Simon Trio. That same year he became a Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition finalist. Since then he has written extensively for the trio, using it as a platform for other projects and developing his unique compositional voice. In 1995 Edward received his first commission and composed Rumba Neurotica for the Relache Ensemble.
2004 Chamber Music America's "New Works: Creation and Presentation Program" grant recipient
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