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Randy Simon Jazz Project

Randy Simon was born and raised in Los Angeles. Although he had piano lessons for a year as a child, and took classical piano lessons for a period while in graduate school, music took a back seat for many years as he built up a successful career as a physicist. "I did not come back to the piano until about 12 years ago when I inherited the grand piano that I grew up with. I had it shipped to the East Coast, completely restored, and I started taking jazz piano lessons. After several years of study with jazz pianist Adrian Cohen, it occurred to me that I was a much more creative writer than I was a pianist. The lessons I took morphed into composition lessons and after a year, I had a handful of tunes that I had written." His teacher suggested that he record the songs with some top local musicians, and that was the beginning of the Randy Simon Jazz Project.

Since that time, Simon has released five albums (Suspended Motion, Awakening, Light It Up, Nyhavn Live, and now The Linda Sessions) that feature his colorful compositions interpreted by world-class musicians based in Upstate New York. "Each project has been more complex and adventurous than the one before. Every time I complete one of these projects, it makes me want to up the ante for the next one."

The latest CD, The Linda Sessions, is an exciting program of modern jazz, filled with fresh original melodies, lively solos, and enthusiastic playing.

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Album Review

Randy Simon Jazz Project: The Linda Sessions

Read "The Linda Sessions" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


The Randy Simon Jazz Project brings to mind, on The Linda Sessions, a high end sports car in top condition zooming down a straight highway, with a rhythm section/drive train boosted by a piano and a guitar. The sound is clean, momentum smooth and straight forward. The tune--the opener of a two CD set--is “Just Deal With It." The band is as tight as a late fifties/early sixties Blue Note Records session, featuring the four man rhythm section with a ...

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Take Five With...

Take Five With Randy Simon

Read "Take Five With Randy Simon" reviewed by Randy Simon


Meet Randy Simon:Randy Simon had piano lessons for a year as a child, and took classical piano lessons for a period while in graduate school, but music took a back seat for many years as he built up a successful career as a physicist. “I did not return to the piano until I inherited the grand piano that I grew up with and started taking jazz piano lessons," says Simon. “After several years of study with jazz pianist ...

2
Album Review

Randy Simon Jazz Project: Nyhavn Live

Read "Nyhavn Live" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


As instrumentalists and established groups explore new musical vistas, there's somewhat of a “safe harbor" in the richness of classic hard bop. Perhaps that's because the repertoire and stylistic formats of drummer Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, pianist Horace Silver and the like offer performers significant latitude in terms of groove, melodic and harmonic diversity, and muscular platforms from which to launch improvisational expression.With NYHAVN Live (pronounced “Neye-HAH-vin," a reference to a Copenhagen waterway), composer/arranger Randy Simon ...

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Album Review

Randy Simon Jazz Project: Light It Up

Read "Light It Up" reviewed by Alexander M. Stern


The Randy Simon Jazz Project is a collection of some of Upstate New York's best and brightest jazz luminaries, all brought together to play the music of the titular Simon. Simon's compositions and arrangements are extraordinary. Complex yet completely accessible, he paints dazzling portraits in sound, creating perfect launching points for his soloists. Light It Up, Simon's fourth album since 2008, continues a run of exceptional albums that present modern jazz at its best. The performers on this album are ...

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Album Review

Randy Simon Jazz Project: Awakening

Read "Awakening" reviewed by Alexander M. Stern


In describing his project on his website, composer Randy Simon characterizes his entry into the world of jazz composition as the result of a “midlife crisis." A lifelong jazz fan, Simon began taking piano lessons as an adult. Finding improvisation to be a challenge, he found that he could write down the melodies in his head, at which point his “piano lessons became composition lessons."

As it happened, Simon's teacher was a performing musician, and through connections forged through that ...

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Recording

Randy Simon Jazz Project Releases "Nyhavn Live"

Randy Simon Jazz Project Releases "Nyhavn Live"

Source: Randy Simon

Nyhavn Live is a 2-CD set of new jazz tunes performed for a live audience by a stellar quintet of Upstate New York musicians. This is the fourth release by the Randy Simon Jazz Project, which features the original compositions and arrangements of Randy Simon. Nyhavn Live features a mix of upbeat Latin tunes, wistful ballads, and straight-ahead swinging jazz numbers played by an ensemble of piano, trumpet, saxophone, bass and drums. All five musicians get a chance to display ...

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Recording

Randy Simon Jazz Project Releases "Light It Up"

Randy Simon Jazz Project Releases "Light It Up"

Source: Michael Ricci

Light It Up is the fourth recording by the Randy Simon Jazz Project showcasing the compositions and instrumental arrangements of Randy Simon. It features an outstanding ensemble of musicians including two newcomers to the series: John Menegon, the renowned bass player who has played with many of the giants of contemporary jazz, and Paul Borrello, a versatile percussionist who adds the exciting sound of vibes to the mix. Joining the two newcomers are the superb pianist Adrian Cohen, the remarkable ...

"Nyhavn Live is an outstanding performance by a group of terrific musicians and a composer of significant talent and potential." —Nick Mondello at AllAboutJazz

"Simon's compositions and arrangements are extraordinary. Complex yet completely accessible, he paints dazzling portraits in sound, creating perfect launching points for his soloists. Light It Up, Simon's fourth album since 2008, continues a run of exceptional albums that present modern jazz at its best."

"Awakening, the third recording of Simon's compositions, not only features outstanding performances by the cream of New York's Capital Region jazz scene, but also well-written, memorable tunes that make this album an exciting listening experience.

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Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Linda Sessions

Self Produced
2016

buy

Nyhavn Live

Self Produced
2013

buy

Light It Up

Self Produced
2010

buy

Awakening

Self Produced
2009

buy

Just Deal with It

From: The Linda Sessions
By Randy Simon Jazz Project

Cultural Exchange

From: Nyhavn Live
By Randy Simon Jazz Project

Reach For It

From: Awakening
By Randy Simon Jazz Project

Suspended Motion

From: Suspended Motion
By Randy Simon Jazz Project

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