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Simón Willson


Simón Willson is a Chilean born, New York City based bassist, composer and improviser. As an eclectic and in demand sideman, he has toured with a host of different musicians in Europe, the US, Canada, and South America. His wide-ranging interest in different realms of Jazz, popular, and improvised music has led him to work regularly with a diverse pool of established artists such as Dave Douglas, Ethan Iverson, Jason Palmer, Jonathan Kreisberg, Frank Carlberg, Roxana Amed, the Mark Morris Dance Group, among many others. In addition to his sideman work, he co-leads the bands Family Plan and Earprint. The latter won the “best debut album” category of the NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll in 2016. In 2023 Orlando Furioso, Vicente Atria’s septet in which Willson plays bass, won the Deutscher Jazz Preis in the “Best International New Artist'' category. He can be heard on over thirty-five records for labels such as Blue Note, Sony Music, Tzadik, Greenleaf, Steeplechase, Newvelle, Endectomorph, in addition to a number of self-releases. Willson’s bandleading debut album “Good Company” was released October 13, 2023 on Fresh Sound Records to high critical acclaim. His sophomore record, Bet, was released February 28, 2025 on Endectomorph Music.

Awards

NPR Jazz Critics Poll, 2016 - Best Debut Album with "Earprint"


Tags

Album Review

Simón Willson: Bet - Live at Ornithology

Read "Bet - Live at Ornithology" reviewed by Alberto Bazzurro


Simón Willson, cileno di nascita ma newyorchese d'adozione, è un giovane contrabbassista che con questo Bet firma il secondo album a suo nome. Nel corso degli anni ha avuto modo di collaborare con musicisti quali Dave Douglas, Ethan Iverson, Jason Palmer e Frank Carlberg, fra gli altri. Qui dirige un quartetto decisamente classico, nella struttura quanto nella musica prodotta, che la dimensione live aiuta non poco a essere estroversa e anche piuttosto generica (classica, se vogliamo), scarsamente originale, pur nella ...

Album Review

Neta Raanan: Unforeseen Blossom

Read "Unforeseen Blossom" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Un album di debutto della durata di quasi ottanta minuti ha tutta l'aria di un'impresa ardita, se poi a intraprenderla è una giovane sassofonista pressoché sconosciuta si aggiunge anche una massiccia dose di incoscienza. Evidentemente Neta Raanan non si fa intimorire e con un quartetto completato dalla batteria di Kayvon Gordon, il basso di Simon Wilson e il vibrafono di Joel Ross, licenzia il notevole Unforseen Blossom. L'etichetta è la Giant Step Arts, organizzazione no-profit del rinomato fotografo Jimmy Katz, ...

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Album Review

Hans Luchs: The Spell is Broken

Read "The Spell is Broken" reviewed by Artur Moral


The third record by NYC-based guitarist Hans Luchs arrives six years after his praiseworthy--but largely overlooked--sophomore release, Until Next Time (Self Produced, 2018). As with that album, the Chicagoan embraces the well-known motto of “less is more," distilling his guitar expertise and writing talent into less than forty minutes across eight new original compositions. Luchs stands as the antithesis of what we might call a jazz guitar hero and rejects any instrumental prominence as a leader. His approach ...

Album Review

Simón Willson: Good Company

Read "Good Company" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Il fascino melodico obliquo che ricorda Andrew Hill e la libertà ritmica di Paul Motian traspaiono in vari momenti di quest'album, debutto da leader del bassista cileno Simón Willson a capo di un quartetto di talentosi emergenti: il pianista Isaac Wilson, il sassofonista tenore Jacob Shulman e il batterista Jonas Esser. Trasferitosi negli Stati Uniti nel 2011 per frequentare il New England Conservatory, Willson risiede a New York City dal 2017 e s'è messo in luce come partner ...

Album Review

Kevin Sun: The Depths of Memory

Read "The Depths of Memory" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero


Kevin Sun è un ancor giovane sassofonista e compositore newyorkese di origini asiatiche non troppo conosciuto alle nostre latitudini, ma già autore di numerosi lavori che lo hanno segnalato alla critica d'oltreoceano e fatto crescere in considerazione presso i suoi colleghi. Sun è musicista dotato di grande talento ed altrettanta grande ambizione -soprattutto compositiva-come ben illustrato dai due doppi cd The Sustain of Memory (Endectomorph, 2019) e il suo ideale seguito The Depths of Memory, suddiviso come il precedente in ...

5
Album Review

Roger Lin: Exploitation Suite

Read "Exploitation Suite" reviewed by Neil Duggan


With the aim of presenting a realistic view of the New York jazz scene, rather than the romanticised view often portrayed, Exploitation Suite from guitarist Roger Lin seeks to explore the scene in a candid way, taking musical inspiration from his own experiences in the city. Lin, who was born in Taiwan, moved to New York after graduating from Berklee College of Music in Boston. He performs frequently, both in the US and Taiwan. There are nine tracks ...

Album Review

Roxana Amed, Frank Calberg: Los Trabajos Y Las Noches

Read "Los Trabajos Y Las Noches" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


La seconda collaborazione tra la cantante argentina Roxana Amed e il pianista finlandese Frank Carlberg continua a esplorare l'introspettivo mondo della poetessa Alejandra Pizarnik. Dopo La sombra de su sombra questo progetto prende il nome da uno dei massimi testi della poetessa, “Los trabajos y las noches," scritto nel 1965 dopo il suo ritorno a Buenos Aires dal lungo soggiorno parigino. Sette anni dopo si sarebbe tolta la vita all'età di 36 anni. Anche stavolta Carlberg ha ...

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“Good Company is exceptional… Ten varied, engaging Willson compositions showcase the breadth of artistic aptitude contained within this ensemble” - Thomas Conrad writing a review of Simón Willson’s debut album Good Company on the famous magazine Stereophile.

 

“With an impressive career already firmly established, bassist/composer Willson was overdue to make his debut album as a leader… Dazzling” - Jason Gross, when reviewing Willson’s Good Company for The New York City Jazz Record. 

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Spell is Broken

Fresh Sound Records
2025

buy

Unforeseen Blossom

Giant Step Arts
2025

buy

Bet - Live at...

Endectomorph Music
2025

buy

Technically Acceptable

Blue Note Records
2024

buy

Cloud Nova

La Reserve
2024

buy

The Depths of Memory

Endectomorph Music
2023

buy

Azizam

From: The Spell is Broken
By Simón Willson

Frozen in Profile

From: The Depths of Memory
By Simón Willson

The Middle of Tensions I

From: The Sustain of Memory
By Simón Willson

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