Pianist
Edward Simon - a native of Venezuela who has made a name for himself over
decades in America as a jazz pianist, bandleader and composer-arranger, along
with being a Guggenheim Fellow and member of the hit SFJAZZ Collective -
presents his latest album, Sorrows and Triumphs, via Sunnyside Records on April
20, 2018. The recording showcases his virtuoso quartet Afinidad, featuring alto
saxophonist David Binney, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Brian Blade; the
album's color-rich arrangements also include special guests: vocalist Gretchen
Parlato, guitarist Adam Rogers and the chamber quintet Imani Winds, along with
percussionists Rogerio Boccato and Luis Quintero. The album's material blends
two bodies of music commissioned by Chamber Music of America's New Jazz Works
program: the suites "Sorrows and Triumphs" and "House of
Numbers," their individual movements re-sequenced to form a holistic
listening experience that brims with a lyricism both intimate and majestic.
This release follows Simon's Latin American Songbook, with the four-and-a-half-star
DownBeat review for that 2016 album praising its "grand and
sophisticated" sound. Latin American Songbook also won Simon an NAACP
Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album. JazzTimes has said: "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."
The three
tracks on Sorrows and Triumphs drawn from the original title suite -
"Equanimity," "Rebirth" and "Triumphs" - feature
Afinidad with Parlato, Rogers and Baccato, the compositions inspired by Simon's
studies of Buddhism over two decades. Afinidad first performed the
"Sorrows and Triumphs" suite in 2009 at Walton Performing Arts Center
in Arkansas and later at New York's Jazz Standard, with performances broadcast
on NPR's Jazz Set. "The music isn't narrative in any way," Simon
explains. "But it was inspired intuitively by the effects Buddhist
practice has had on me, the perspective and the little bits of enlightenment that
come every day. I wrote my own words for 'Triumphs,' but Gretchen has also
studied Buddhism, so when I asked her to contribute lyrics to 'Rebirth,' she
knew exactly how to convey the message. Gretchen is such a special singer, who
has the gift making the most of small details to expressive effect. She knows
that just a whisper can have a big impact. As for the compositions, I wanted
them to bring joy to the listener, to be direct and accessible, with singable
melodies."
The album's
tracks taken from the suite "House of Numbers" - "Uninvited
Thoughts," "Triangle," "Chant" and "Venezuela
Unida" - feature Afinidad with Quintero and award-winning classical group
Imani Winds. The ballad highlight "Chant" also includes words and
vocals by Parlato. Simon's compositions explore the cross-cultural resonance of
numerology, as well as the musical possibilities that arise when jazz and
classical artists combine. The music draws on traditions from Europe, Africa,
North America and South America, blending composed structures with sections for
improvisation; the numbers 3, 4, 5 and 7 - and their cultural and musical
implications - form the basis of the suite's four pieces. The composer
explains: "The number 3, for instance, can suggest triple meters, such as
3/4, 6/4 or 6/8, which in turn can suggest certain grooves, particularly in the
music of South America. It can also point to the use of triads and three-bar
phrases. Above all, the number 3 points to the even distribution of forces into
three equal parts, which suggests balance - an ideal in nature and life."
Afinidad and Imani Winds unveiled House of Numbers in 2016 at California's
University of the Pacific.
Simon Rowe,
executive director of Roots, Jazz & American Music at the San Francisco
Conservatory of Music, attended the premiere of "House of Numbers,"
saying afterward that the blend of the five Imani Winds with Simon's jazz
quartet was "mesmerizing," as the "writing juxtaposed the
lyrical and often dense textures of the quintet with the ever-changing, percolating
rhythmic drive of Afinidad." Reviewing Afinidad's music-making, All About
Jazz described the band's sound as "wonderful, accessible and deep."
Simon remarks on his bandmates: "Their musicality, openness, and breadth
give me the greatest freedom as a composer. I write with the sound and
sensibilities of Dave, Scott and Brian in mind, and I depend on our instant
empathy and almost wordless communication in the studio. It is our artistic
bond of trust, built over many years, that underpins and encourages my
exploration in these pieces." Simon and Binney co-founded Afinidad in
2000, with the kindred-spirit rhythm section of Colley and Blade there from the
start. The quartet has previously released the albums Afinidad (Red Records,
2001) and Océanos (Criss Cross, 2007).
Simon and
Binney share a 25-year affinity, their musical visions as simpatico as their
personalities. "Dave is eclectic, open to all sorts of influences, and has
the ability to put them together into something personal, as a player and as a
composer," Simon remarks. "We have both composed for Afinidad over
the years, even though this album is mine as a composer. But David's sharp ear
for aesthetic beauty makes him a great sounding board in the studio - in
addition to being a featured player, he has real producing chops. He
co-produced the track 'Triumphs' with me, adding electronics." For his
part, Binney says: "I've always enjoyed Ed's sensitive musicality. His
musical concept sums up the way I hear things, and because of his Latin
American roots, his rhythmic sense is very strong, which complements the way I
play. Sometimes I play with more abandon, and he locks things in. And his
compositions have such thought behind them." About Colley and Blade, who
are leaders in their own right, Simon adds: "Musicians who are composers
interpret other people's music in a more informed way, so Scott and Brian have
the sensibility to articulate my music with sensitivity to space, to quality of
sound, to textural nuance."
Guitarist
Adam Rogers has been part of the extended Afinidad family for years. "He's
such a strong improver," Simon explains, "and his versatility as a
player, whether on electric or acoustic, adds a lot to what we can do
texturally." About the extra percussion of Boccato and Quintero, Simon
adds: "Groove has always been a vital aspect of music for me, and with a
lot of this music influenced by classical minimalism - especially Steve Reich -
the extra percussion helps articulate the groove. And in 'Venezuela Unida,'
Luis plays the culo'e puya, a long, narrow drum, played in sets of three,
associated with Afro-Venezuelan music. This composition is dedicated to my
homeland. Venezuela has undergone tremendous socio-economic and political
changes during the past decade. It pains me to see the strong divisions that have
emerged as a result and the great difficulty people are going through. I wish
for my fellow Venezuelans to elevate themselves beyond differences in views and
hope they manage to find peace, understanding and unity once again."
Edward Simon
- who first came to the U.S. in 1981 at age 12, then settled permanently
stateside after attending the Performing Arts School in Philadelphia - grew up
in a musical family in the oil-refinery town of Punta Cardón, Venezuela. His
father planted a musical seed with young Edward and his siblings, the kids
raised on the strains of their dad playing guitar and singing boleros with his
drinking buddies. Chucho Valdés was Simon's first big influence on piano, then
he got the jazz bug watching a VHS tape of Dizzy Gillespie and Stan Getz
playing at the White House - with "the freedom of jazz" forever
instilled in him as an ideal. After graduating from the Performing Arts School
at age 15, Simon received a music scholarship from the University of the Arts
where he studied classical music. Later, he transferred to the Manhattan School
of Music where he studied jazz piano. During his stint as a young jazzer in New
York City, Simon was inspired by the innovative Nuyorican jazz of Jerry
Gonzalez & the Fort Apache Band, eventually playing with the group.
As a young
striver, Simon took the piano chair in Bobby Watson's band Horizon (1989-94),
later moving to the Terence Blanchard Group (1994-2002). Simon made his debut
album as a leader in 1994 with Beauty Within (Audioquest). The same year, he
placed third in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, with the
albums Edward Simon (Kokopelli, 1995) and La Bikina (Mythology, 1998) to
follow. Simon co-founded the quartet Afinidad with David Binney, releasing the
discs Afinidad (Red Records, 2001) and Océanos (Criss Cross, 2007) with the
rhythm duo of Scott Colley and Brian Blade. Simon and Binney also released the
duo album Fiestas de Agosto (Red Records, 2008). In 2010, Simon was named a
Guggenheim Fellow, and he became a member of the SFJAZZ Collective, which
comprises what The New York Times called "eight of today's most
in-demand" performer-composers.
Following
his leader discs The Process (Criss Cross, 2003) and Simplicitas (Criss Cross,
2005), Simon recorded several albums featuring his All-Star Trio with Blade and
bassist John Patitucci; complementing the studio discs Unicity (CamJazz, 2006)
and Poesía (CamJazz, 2009), the group's most recent release is the 2013
Sunnyside album Trio Live, recorded at New York's Jazz Standard. The New York
Times praised Simon's "warm touch" as a pianist, while Jazz Journal
International singled out his "deep emotional statements" as a
composer. With the folk-accented compositions of his album Venezuelan Suite
(Sunnyside, 2014), Simon garnered some of the most glowing reviews of his
career, including a rating of four-and-a-half out of five stars from DownBeat.
With Venezuelan Suite, the pianist blended the tuneful, buoyant sounds of his
native country with the harmonically sophisticated, forward-looking manner of
jazz. The compositions - written on a grant from Chamber Music America -
featured star saxophonist Mark Turner alongside virtuosos of the Venezuelan
folk tradition. All About Jazz marveled over the album: "Venezuelan Suite
is pianist Edward Simon's love letter to his homeland, but that's not all it
is; it's the perfect confluence of Venezuelan ideals, jazz language and
chamber-esque sophistication. In short, it's a masterpiece."
Latin
American Songbook (Sunnyside, 2016) saw Simon create artful piano-trio
arrangements of such classics as Astor Piazzolla's "Libertango" and
Antônio Carlos Jobim's "Chega de Saudade," as well as the Cuban
ballad "En La Orilla Del Mundo" (On the Edge of the World). NPR's All
Things Considered said: "This recording works because an expert musician
applies himself so sincerely to songs that were formative for him. Simon puts
his head and heart into Latin American Songbook, and the album gives Latin
standards a rightful and joyful place at the center of instrumental jazz."
In fall 2017, Simon, Colley and Blade released their first album as a
cooperative trio, the eponymous Steel House.
Sorrows and
Triumphs
1.
"Incessant Desires"
2.
"Uninvited Thoughts"
3.
"Equanimity"
4.
"Triangle"
5.
"Chant"
6.
"Venezuela Unida"
7.
"Triumphs"
8.
"Rebirth"
Produced and
composed by Edward Simon
"Triumphs"
co-produced by Edward Simon & David Binney
Lyrics for
"Chant" and "Rebirth" by Gretchen Parlato
Edward
Simon, piano; David Binney, alto saxophone; Scott Colley, double-bass; Brian
Blade, drums
Gretchen
Parlato, vocals; Adam Rogers, guitars; Imani Winds: Valerie Coleman, flute;
Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboe; Monica Ellis, bassoon; Mark Dover, clarinet; Jeff
Scott, French horn
Rogerio
Baccato, percussion (3, 7); Luis Quintero, percussion (2, 4, 6)
