Home » Member Page
Alan Simon
JAZZ PIANIST, MUSIC EDUCATOR
About Me
Pianist Alan Simon is known in the jazz world as a musician’s musician; a skilled,
inventive player with an impressive command of both the traditional and modern jazz
idioms.
Alan Simon first attracted national attention during his years with the Lionel Hampton
Orchestra. He recorded and toured extensively with the band, eventually playing all the
major jazz festivals in Europe, South America, and the United States. Alan’s appearances
with Hampton included a date at the Vienna Opera House, and a concert at Carnegie Hall,
where Hampton’s quartet was backed by a symphony orchestra.
During his stint with Hamp, Alan was singled out frequently for praise by the critics. Said
a typical review in the Jazz Journal International, covering an appearance at the Grande
Parade du Jazz in Nice, France, Hamp’s pianist played lovely, swinging and at times, quite
majestic piano and seemed quite undaunted by the varying stylistic requirements of
Hamp’s repertoire. Or from The Omaha World Herald, Hampton handed over the
spotlight to pianist Alan Simon, who demonstrated that he is no mere sideman. Simon
produced one of the hottest, most intricate solos of the evening.
Alan has shared the stage with jazz legends Dizzy Gillespie and Buddy Tate. He has also
backed up Slide Hampton, Frank Foster, Slam Stewart, George Coleman, Toots Thielemans,
Anita O’Day, Panama Francis, Mel Lewis, Major Holley, Howard McGhee, Lee Konitz, and Al
Grey.
Alan Simon received rave reviews for his first recording under his own name: Rainsplash,
a Cadence Jazz Records release. Simon is a wonderful and consummate piano man, said
the Chicago Observer, ...a no-nonsense hard bop blowing date and all parties involved are
at their swingin’est. In Jazztimes, Stanley Dance wrote, His solos swing relatively
loosely...a thoroughly professional date by men of whom more is sure to be heard. And
from Coda magazine: This fine working band creates intelligent, inventive, lyrical music.
In the mid-1980s, the Alan Simon trio traveled to Chile on a tour sponsored by the
American Embassy. The group performed and taught workshops throughout the country,
and appeared on a special TV documentary about jazz in Chile.
As a youth growing up in New York City, Alan studied both classical and jazz piano
intensively. He graduated with honors from the City University of New York, earning a
Bachelor of Arts in music. Now residing with his wife Pamela and their children in Falls
Village, Connecticut a small rural town in the foothills of the Berkshires, Alan continues to
compose, perform, teach, and record. He is a member of the faculty of the Westport
School of Music, and the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. In 1996 Alan was awarded an
Individual Artists’ Fellowship Grant for music composition by the New York Foundation for
the Arts.
So listen to the jazz pianist whose playing The New York Times has described as clean,
energetic, and fraught with periodic surprises... Mr. Simon holds it all together, weaving
and soloing with sensitivity and taste.
Alan Simon
141 Music Mountain Road
Falls Village, Connecticut 06031
Phone: (860) 824-8274
www.alansimonmusic.com