Ed Simon
March 2001

"I do feel a need to have a band. A situation where I could further develop my ideas and concept. It's tough because these days jazz has become a business, therefore in the industry circles it's no longer about ability but about selling instead."

By Vittorio Lo Conte

All About Jazz: You played with a band called Horizon lead by Bobby Watson. Who did you play with prior to joining them?

Edward Simon: I joined Bobby's band shortly after I moved to New York. Before I moved, I was basically living in Philadelphia, attending college (The University of the Arts) and playing in the local music scene. Some of the artists I was working with in Horizon were Kevin Eubanks, Paquito D'Rivera, Bobby Hutcherson, Herbie Mann and Greg Osby.

AAJ: "Present Tense" surely is a good record, but I really liked the live album you recorded with them; that was a very tight band.

E.S.: Many people like those live recordings. I personally feel like my playing was not there yet. Of course, it was where it needed to be at that time....

AAJ: Your work has been appreciated not only in the USA but also in Europe. Do you think you will work with some European producers?

E.S.: I have just done my first record for Red Records (Italy). So it's too soon to tell what's going to happen in Europe. I want to see how things go with this one album and we'll take it from there. I'm hoping that Sergio Veschi, Red's producer, can put it out soon. I think I might like working with someone like Manfred Eicher from ECM.

AAJ: Who are the other players on this new record? What kind of musical ideas did you develop on it?

E.S.: The musicians on this recording are Brian Blade on drums, Scott Coley on bass, David Binney on alto Sax, Adam Cruz on hand percussion and steel pan, Adam Rogers on guitar and Lucia Pulído on vocals.

This is a co-lead project between Dave Binney and me. We have been playing together for about ten years. I play on some of his records and he plays on some of mine. We both have great admiration for each other's work. To be more precise, I play on "Point Game" and "Free to Dream" and he plays on my latest solo recording "La Bikina".

The original idea for this particular project was to do a duo record, but Sergio wouldn't go for it. So, we decided instead to put our efforts together and make a record with a Latin American inclination and folk undertones. By Latin American I mean not just Afro-Cuban , but covering a wider spectrum of Latin musics. I have arranged a Venezuelan folk song ("Mi Querencia") by one of Venezuela's most prominent folk music composers: Simón Diaz. We also arranged a couple of pieces by Alberto Ginasteras for piano and alto saxophone that were originally written for piano. Alberto is coming out of the contemporary classical tradition.

There are two original compositions of mine ("Simplicity" and "Pere") and the rest are originals by Dave, and one free duo improvisation. "Simplicity" is a tune I wrote many years ago that had been sitting on the shelves all this time. When Dave came over to my house to work on this project and try to select a repertoire, I played it for him. He liked it and suggested that I record it solo piano, but we ended up doing it as a duo.

"Pere" is a tune that is coming out of the Afro-Cuban bag but in 5/4 time. I dedicate this one to a great friend of mine whose name is Pere, hence the title.

AAJ: You have played also with Paquito d'Rivera and Greg Osby, did you feel a difference in the way they lead a band as compared to Bobby Watson?

E.S.: Yes, indeed.

I haven't had the opportunity to tour with Greg very much. Based on the few gigs and recording that I have done with him, I remember him being very open and providing a lot of freedom to his band members to do what they wanted. His projects where always very challenging conceptually, he is a forward thinking individual and an outstanding musician. He forces you to reach inside for undiscovered territory.

Paquito's style of band leading is quite different. Even though he will give you a lot of artistic freedom, he is very specific when it comes to musical styles of playing. His repertoire is highly diverse so it requires a very versatile type of musician. He is one of the few true Latin Jazz musicians. I say this because he covers the complete spectrum of Latin musics: Tangos and milongas (Argentina), Samba and Bossa (Brazil), Venezuelan waltzes, the various Afro-Cuban styles (Son, Cha Cha, Rumba, Danzon), etc... And all this in addition to the various North American styles as well as classical music. He is a true virtuoso. There is a lot of spontaneity in his playing and in the way he leads his band. You never know what's going to happen next when you're on stage with him. He may stop the band and play solo for a while, or he plays duo with you (without telling you before-hand), he may ask you to play an introduction to a tune, etc... He gives you a lot of room to stretch. I never felt, however, that Paquito made a great effort to keep a steady band. He loves to play with all kind of musicians all of the time, and therefore his band members are frequently changing. With him I never felt bad if I couldn't make a particular gig because it wasn't really about "the band" as much as it was about the repertoire.

With Bobby and Horizon things where again different from both Greg and Paquito. Bobby did make an effort to keep a band together. And for the most part, since I joined to when I left the band, the personal stayed the same. When I refer to "the band" I'm speaking of the band with Victor Lewis, Terrell Stafford, Essiet Okun Essiet and myself, as this was the band that stayed together the longest. This is the band on the recording you mentioned. Although Bobby encouraged us to bring our music to the band, the repertoire was primarily comprised of his music and some of Victor's. I never really considered Bobby to be a great band leader, although he could do it. Being in his band was instrumental in me getting an understanding of the Blues and Swing feel as well as familiarizing me with the jazz tradition, and I'll always be grateful for providing me with those opportunities. Victor was a strong force in the band, a phenomenal player and a natural composer. He is a writer of strong vision although not particularly skillful. Bobby's is just the opposite, so the two balanced each other rather well.

AAJ: What kind of compositions do you prefer to write? I personally liked "Hey Now" with Horizon. Do you now feel the need to lead a group of your own in order to further develop your ideas, or do you prefer to hear them in different contexts and try them with different people?

E.S.: I can't say I have a preference for one kind of compositions of mine over another. They each represent a particular point of my development at any given time. I think that possibly my best composition to-date is "The Process" (recorded on "La Bikina" and Terence Blanchard's "Wandering Moon" - Sony Classical), but I wouldn't say I prefer it over others. I do feel a need to have a band. A situation where I could further develop my ideas and concept. I hope that God will provide me with the opportunities to do this. It's tough because these days jazz has become a business, therefore in the industry circles it's no longer about ability but about selling instead. In one sense, I feel fortunate to be able to record for independent labels because I have the artistic freedom to do whatever I want to do, the only problem is that the music does not get out there because of the limited means for promotion, advertising, etc...

AAJ: Terence Blanchard was another band leader you played and recorded with. Is there something you have absorbed from your band leaders, for instance John Coltrane admitted to have learnt a lot from Thelonious Monk while he was in his band?

E.S.: By playing with Terence, I have learned how to play with strength and control at the same time. He, being from the birth-place of jazz, has allowed me to experience music next to someone who has an understanding of the historic development of the music from it's roots to the present. It is as close as I've gotten to the roots of the music.

Terence knows how to play in that traditional New Orleans style. He doesn't do it very often, but he knows how. He is a great fan of Louis Armstrong. In New York City, you don't have opportunities of hearing the music played live that way, not to mention perform it. Another great feature about being in Terence's band is the opportunities to record the sound-tracks to his film scores. As you probably know, Terence has become a well know film music composer.

Fortunately, we get to collaborate in some of those projects. This is an entirely different field of work that requires an entirely different type of skills. For one, I get to work on my sight reading, something jazz musicians don't get to use very much (unless you play in a big band). I have also had to learn how to play in different styles not commonly used in jazz as the writing can sometimes have a classical tendency to it. To improvise through composed forms and to a click track.

All of these has been a great experience and an opportunity to use and develop a whole other set of chops. From Terence's leadership I have probably learned the most about how to connect with the audience and the band members by making them feel comfortable. He has a way of making those around him feel very comfortable, I like that. This way everyone likes to work with you. This is equally as important and many times more important than your talent because we all want to enjoy our experience as much as possible while we are working. He has a great personality on and off stage.

Paquito is the same way, he uses his great sense of humor to his advantage. When you do a gig with Paquito you know ahead of time you're going to have fun. I'll always be thankful to Paquito for making me rediscover the music of my home country. When I started doing gigs with him, knowing that I'm from Venezuela, he asked me to learn the Venezuelan waltzes he so much loves to play. Well I was very embarrassed and scared, because the truth was that I had never played any Venezuelan folk music before. By being in his band I learned to appreciate it and developed an interest in it. Now I always include some Venezuelan folk pieces in my recordings and what's more, I have plans of doing an entire project dedicated to Venezuelan folk music one day.

I've always said that Greg Osby has opened my mind to the limitless possibilities of improvised music. He got my mind working and thinking in a experimental way. He has showed me the importance of always trying out new concepts and developing new ideas by drawing elements from your experiences and those outside of your experience.

This article is published courtesy of All About Jazz Italia: www.allaboujtazz.com/italy