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"It's a continuous process ... to consolidateit into an
identifiable voice, where you can
still hear all of my roots and all of myexperiences in every
solo that I may take."
SFJAZZ pianist Edward Simon, ondeveloping a voice within jazz
music
Courtesy photo
Welcome, Marshall | LogoutSunday, February 28, 2010
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IN CONCERT : Collective Voice, Multi-tiered Purpose One of the
stronger andmore inspiring ongoing projects in the current jazz
scene, the all-star SFJAZZCollective pays a return visit to Santa
Barbara, this time with a few new voices inthe mix
By Josef Woodard, NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
February 26, 2010 12:00 AM
SFJAZZ COLLECTIVE
When: 8 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Campbell Hall, UCSB
Cost: $35 general, $17 UCSB students
Information: 893-3535, artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu
Founded in 2004 under the aegis of the respected San
FranciscoJazz Festival, the ensemble-organism known as the
SFJAZZCollective has nobly continued through the years. By this
point, thegroup is one of the stronger and more inspiring ongoing
entities inthe jazz world, as a collective of some of the finest
jazz playersalive, and built on the creation of new, commissioned
compositionsand tributes to past jazz legends.
Thankfully, Santa Barbara has been privy to the changes in
the
personnel of this "mini-big band," through early concerts
atCampbell Hall and a striking performance at the Lobero Theatre
twoyears back.
On Tuesday, the Collective returns in what promises to be one of
the few great local jazz concerts of the year,this time slightly
reconfigured in personnel, but no less strong: pianist Edward Simon
joins the fold, along withtenor saxist Mark Turner and trumpeter
Avishai Cohen. The continuing members in the stellar line-up are
altosaxist Miguel Zenon, drummer Eric Harland, vibraphonist Stefon
Harris, trombonist Robin Eubanks and bassistMatt Penland.
Simon, born in Venezuela but based in NYC since the late '80s,
was on the phone recently, discussing his new rolein the
Collective. He has long been a respected pianist in various jazz
groupings, including Terence Blanchard'sband and projects with
Ventura-raised and now world-renowned saxist David Binney. On his
own, Simon has alsoworked as a composer-bandleader, recently
releasing the impressive trio recording "Poesia," with bassist
JohnPatitucci and drummer-of-choice Brian Blade.
But in the SFJAZZ Collective, his musical perspective expands in
different ways. Simon got the call to replace thegroup's original
pianist, Renee Rosnes, in June, and has been gearing up ever since,
writing his commissionedcomposition and arrangement for the band.
Last week was his first actual encounter in the band, as
theyrehearsed and began the Collective's annual residency and tour.
The Collective, says Simon, is "a very uniquetype of situation in
the jazz scene today. It's a situation dedicated to holding a
residency that is able to develop
new material each year to write and create and develop new
material, rehearse it and perform it. Members of theensemble are
just stellar. It's nothing but the best out there.
"It's not just a group of guys getting together and playing.
It's more than that. We really spend some time withthe music,
rehearsing it, making changes, getting it just the way we like it.
We delve into the music moredeeply."
It helps Simon's smooth entry into the fold that he has played
with virtually every musician in the band, apartfrom Penland. He
worked with Harland in Blanchard's band, and has done various close
musical work with Turner.Turner, in fact, plays a key role in the
new piece Simon wrote for the group, fittingly called "Collective
Presence."
Simon's piece, he says, "speaks about the importance of being
present in every moment of our lives. Thattranslates or relates to
the work of an artist, as well, because the more we are present in
each moment in themusic, the more detailed we see it, the more life
you can bring out of it. It's a meditative type of tune."
Part of the Collective's agenda has been to pay tribute to past
jazz legends, with new arrangements of music by,for instance, John
Coltrane, Thelonious Monk and Wayne Shorter. In the current season,
the point of focus is on
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pianist-composer Horace Silver. Silver was a key figure in the
late '50s and early '60s, penning classic songs, nowpart of the
standard canon, such as "Song for My Father," "Seor Blues" and
"Sister Sadie."
Regarding Silver's contribution to jazz and musical culture,
Simon notes that "his compositions have greatmelodies and grooves,
and to me, those are the two elements that grab me about music, in
general. Those aretwo of my favorite things about music. Having
that kind of material to work with is just as good as it gets.
Whenyou have a great melody and a great groove, maybe the rest
should come easy. There's no way you can messthat up, basically,"
he laughs, "unless you change it too much.
"But he is just one of those masters who have managed to produce
a great number of wonderful tunes that are apleasure and a joy to
play. Of course, he's an influential pianist, as well."
Another Collective musician with a strong kindred spirit for
Simon is alto saxist Zenon, who has been the recipientof both
Guggenheim Fellowship and Macarthur Genius grants. Just as Simon
has been working on synthesizing
jazz and his Venezuelan roots, Zenon has been tilling new
jazz-Latin soil, especially on his recent "Esta Plena,"
working with music of his native Puerto Rico.
For Simon, the challenge of finding his own personal voice
naturally becomes a more complicated process, dealingwith the
assorted influences and cultural links in his musical being. He
points out that, while playing in Blanchard'sband, "I was trying to
crystallize more my voice as a jazz pianist. That can take time.
Being so versatile, havingso many influences, can make this process
even more difficult. You have more elements that you're dealing
with,and you're figuring out how to consolidate all of that, so
that whatever you do still sounds like yourself, stillsounds like
Ed Simon.
"I think that the primary goal of any jazz artist is to have an
identifiable voice. If you can do it with compositions,as well,
that's even better. That's what we should be after, and should be
looking to attain.
"It has taken me years, and it's a continuous process, which
never ends, to figure out ways to bring all of thattogether and
consolidate it into an identifiable voice, where you can still hear
all of my roots and all of myexperiences in every solo that I may
take, if possible (laughs). It's a moving target, of course, and I
don't knowthat I'll ever get there. But it's the process that
really matters, the process of going after that. That's really
thewhole point."
And now, the SFJAZZ Collective affords him another avenue for
broadening his expressive potential.
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