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Edward Simon: 25 Years

By Dan McClenaghan
September 29, 2020
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Pianist Edward Simon immigrated to the United States from his native Venezuela while still in his teens. He stayed, and carved out a successful career in music. His fiftieth birthday rolled around, and the artist decided it was time to take a look and listen back. In a musical journey that spans the titular 25 Years, Simon has crafted a lot of music, employing a Latin/jazz/classical approach with a seemingly effortless refinement, making sounds that are unfailingly engaging and beautiful.

The two disc 25 Years comprises seventeen tunes culled from thirteen albums, beginning with "Caballo Viejo," from the 1995 album Edward Simon (Kokopelli Records), to "Triumphs," from Triumphs and Sorrows (Sunnyside Records, 2018). It covers the pianist's work with his piano trios, his teaming with saxophonist

Mark Turner

saxophone, tenor
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Mark Turner, in quartet and quintet, his collaborations with alto saxophonist

David Binney

saxophone, alto
b.1961

" data-original-title="" title="">David Binney, as well as his larger ensemble sets: Venezuelan Suite (Sunnyside, 2014) and Uninvited Thoughts (Sunnyside, 2018) are all here.

Simon's career started early, working with altoist

Bobby Watson

saxophone, alto
b.1953

" data-original-title="" title="">Bobby Watson before moving on to a nine year run with trumpeter

Terence Blanchard

trumpet
b.1962

" data-original-title="" title="">Terence Blanchard, leading to the blossoming of his own vision with albums like La Bikina (Mythology Records, 1998), Simplicitas (Criss Cross Jazz, 2005) and the magnificent Oceanos (Criss Cross Jazz, 2007). A fresh-ears spin through this two disc retrospective re-states Simon's acumen and elegance as a tunesmith and arranger. The challenge in compiling a multi decades look back—featuring different line-ups and instrumentations—is maintaining an artistic cohesion. Simon achieves this through his deft sequencing combined with an extraordinarily focused, time-spanning artistic vision, from the quartet offering "Alma Llanera" with saxophonist Turner, to the fifteen minute "Pathless Path" featuring the trio with bassist

John Patitucci

bass
b.1959

" data-original-title="" title="">John Patitucci and drummer

Brian Blade

drums
b.1970

" data-original-title="" title="">Brian Blade, through the closing nonet tune "Impossible Question."

The problem with squeezing a quarter century of work onto just two discs is: a lot of very good things get left out. An investigation of the albums from which the music was chosen could deservedly encourage further explorations.

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Track Listing

CD 1: Erika; Alma Llanera; Govinda; Fiestas; Simplicity; Pathless Path; Pere; Impossible Question.

CD 2: What If?; Aguantando; Caballo Viejo; Barinas; Uninvited Thoughts; Navigator; Gracias A La Vida; Venezuela Unida; Triumphs.

Personnel

Edward Simon

piano

Mark Turner

saxophone, tenor

Ben Street

bass

David Binney

saxophone, alto

Brian Blade

drums

Adam Cruz

drums

Larry Grenadier

bass, acoustic

Adam Rogers

guitar

Luciana Souza

vocals

Avishai Cohen

bass

John Patitucci

bass

Shane Endsley

trumpet

Gretchen Parlato

vocals

Joe Martin

bass

Miguel Zenon

saxophone, alto

Edmar Castaneda

harp

David Sanchez

saxophone, tenor

Sean Jones

trumpet

Robin Eubanks

trombone

Obed Calvaire

drums

Additional Instrumentation

Edward Simon: keyboards; John Ellis: bass clarinet (CD2: 4); Pernell Saturnino: percussion (CD1: 4); Jesse Newman: trombone (CD1: 8); Alan Ferber: trombone (CD1: 8); Genevieve Artadi: vocals (CD2: 1); Marco Granados: flute (CD2: 4) ; Roberto Koch: bass (CD2: 4); Jorge Glem: cuatro (CD2: 4); Leonardo Granados: maracas (CD2: 4); Valery Coleman: flute (CD2: 5); Toyin Spellman-Diaz: oboe (CD2: 5); Mark Dover: clarinet (CD2: 5); Monica Ellis: bassoon (CD2: 5); Jeff Scott: French horn (CD2: 5); Luis Quintero: percussion (CD2: 5); David Sanchez: percussion (CD2: 8); Matt Penman: bass (CD2: 8); Warren Wolf: vibraphone (CD2: 8).

Album information

Title: 25 Years | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Ridgeway Records

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