Jazz Articles about Michael Simon

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Estrella Acosta: Caminos: A Latin American Landscape

by Acacia Grace
August 27, 2026

Estrella Acosta's Caminos: A Latin American Landscape is an inviting introduction to contemporary Latin jazz, balancing the sophistication of jazz with the warmth and rhythmic energy of Latin American music. Acosta has a smooth yet commanding presence, and her vocals give the album a feeling of intimacy even when the music becomes lively and exuberant. Her work is rooted in the sounds of her native Cuba while drawing on a wider range of Latin American and Brazilian influences.

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Michael Simon & Asian Connection: East West & Beyond

by Neil Duggan
October 8, 2024

If you find yourself in need of a lift, you may find it on Michael Simon and Asian Connection's uplifting album East, West & Beyond. Born in Venezuela, Simon, now resident in the Netherlands, has spent over two decades combining western jazz with music from the east and collaborating with some of Asia's best musicians. Joining Simon to deliver his vision are Taiwanese saxophonist Minyen Hsieh, Hong Kong drummer Huang Tzu Yu, Taipei-based Japanese bassist Ikeda Kinya, Indonesian ...

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New Jazz & World Music: 2011

by Michael Simon
September 11, 2011

Some of the most creative jazz and world music artists on the scene right now that deserve wider recognition. TrackNameTimeArtistAlbum1Sangre Mandinga6:2Alex WilsonMali Latino2Bamako 20005:29Alex WilsonMali Latino3Choro6:16Banda Jazz Sinfonica de Diademainterpreta Noel Rosa4Galactic Panama5:4Danilo PérezProvidencia5Providencia5:8Danilo PérezProvidencia6Firi Na Gron'6:18FrafraSoundBlack,Dutch & More7Guess What?6:24FrafraSoundBlack,Dutch & More8Blen Blen Blen3:5Gerardo RosalesGerardo Rosales and his Afro Cuban Jazz Quintet “Chano Pozo's Music"9Straight, No Chaser4:26Jorge GlemLa Siembra del Cuatro10Bily3:19Jorge GlemLa Siembra del Cuatro11Serendipity6:41Leo BlancoAfrica Latina12Afro East4:43Leo BlancoAfrica Latina131 Si S-Au Iubit8:1Modern Balkan Jazz OrchestraPrimavara Master ...

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Take Five With Michael Simon

by AAJ Staff
August 8, 2011

Meet Michael Simon: Michael's musical background goes back to Punta Cardón (his native town), in Venezuela in the 1980s, when he was only ten years old, already jamming with his brothers. His musical studies cover a wide spectrum, first in Cuba where he went to the Ignacio Cervantes music school to study trumpet, and then to the Rotterdam conservatory of music in The Netherlands, where he obtained his arranging and composition degree in 2002. For the ...

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Michael Simon & Roots United: Revelacion

by Jerry D'Souza
October 7, 2006

Michael Simon was born in a family where music was a strong persuasion. His father Hadsy, a guitarist and singer, first inculcated the love of music in him, while his brothers Edward and Marlon turned his ear towards jazz. After attending a concert by Irakere in Curacao, he went to Cuba and learned the music of that country. Three years later, in 1992, he moved to the Netherlands, where he now resides.

Simon composed and arranged all the music on ...