Edward Simon / Edward Simon Trio

About the Project

Residency host San Francisco Conservatory of Music will present and video document a program celebrating the legacy of Latin American women songwriters and the world premiere of Edward Simon’s Chamber Music America commissioned work for the Edward Simon Trio with guests Mexican vocalist Magos Herrera and percussionist Luis Quitero. Collaborator Magos Herrera will lecture on the music of Latin American women. 

Residency Location

San Francisco, CA & New York, NY

About the Artist

Edward Simon, a native of Venezuela, has made a name for himself over decades in America as a jazz improviser, composer-arranger, and bandleader. His profile has been elevated in recent years as he has explored the commonalities jazz can have with the folkloric sounds of Latin America. JazzTimes summed up his impact this way: “Simon is less talked about than many other important jazz pianists from the Caribbean and South America, but he may be the most complete creative artist among  them.”

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, as a 12-year member of the SFJAZZ Collective, an all-star ensemble comprised of eight of the best players in jazz today, he has performed at some of the most prominent jazz venues and festivals around the world. Simon has been a Guggenheim Fellow and has been awarded multiple grants as part of Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works initiative. Simon is a Yamaha artist and has recorded 16 albums as a leader or co-leader. His latest album is titled Solo Live, released via Ridgeway Records in October 2021. Simon’s 2016 album Latin American Songbook received a  four-and-a-half-star DownBeat review praising its “grand and sophisticated” sound. Latin American Songbook won an NAACP Image Award for “Outstanding Jazz Album”. The New York Times has praised his “light, warm touch” as a pianist, while Jazz Journal International singled out his “deep emotional statements” as a composer and improviser.

His recent release, Sorrows and Triumphs, showcases the long-running virtuoso quartet Afinidad, with alto saxophonist David Binney, bassist Scott Colley, and drummer Brian Blade. The album’s color-rich arrangements also include several special guests; vocalist Gretchen Parlato, guitarist Adam Rogers, the chamber quintet Imani Winds, plus percussionists Rogerio Boccato and Luis Quintero. The album’s material blends two bodies of work commissioned by Chamber Music America: the suites “Sorrows and Triumphs” and “House of Numbers.” Summing up a string of glowing reviews for the album, All About Jazz said: “Edward Simon's sensitivity, eloquence, strength, and intelligence stand in full view throughout this gorgeous collection.”

Simon’s album Venezuelan Suite sees him blending the tuneful, buoyant sounds of his native country with the harmonically sophisticated, forward-looking manner of jazz. DownBeat gave it a four-and-a-half star review, and New York City Record included it among Best Latin Releases of 2014.