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Shimon Israel

Never really a player but always an earnest listener.

About Me

Grew up in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe; attended college in Durban, South Africa; lived in Cape Town till 1979; Manhattan till 1991; 50 miles north of Manhattan thereafter. I miss the music of the city very much sometimes.

In addition to my day job, I convert cassettes and vinyl to digital. I get projects via my web site: http://sbsinternet.com/audio.cfm

My Jazz Story

I credit my father for "indoctrinating" me in the ways of big band and piano-bass-drums rhythm sections. In the 50s, he lived for Benny Goodman's Carnegie Hall concert and played it incessantly. I also listened to Sammy Davis Jr, Danny Kaye and a few South African big band albums, since I grew up in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Jazz was a major reason for my move to New York City in 1979. My reasons for moving there were almost that superficial. The first few years I lived in Manhattan, I was playing a kind of "catch-up" with the music I didn't have access to growing up. I went to as many live events as I could manage. Today, I'm still passionate about jazz but also Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Cuban.