The winter series opens on Sunday, January 26, with the return of celebrated Venezuelan pianist-composer-arranger Edward Simon, joined by his longtime trio members bassist Reuben Rogers (also known for his work with Charles Lloyd) and drummer Adam Cruz (also known for his work with Danilo Pérez). Simon’s last Athenaeum performance as a leader was with his project Femeninas: Songs of Latin American Women, which featured vocalist Magos Herrera. He returns to the library to celebrate the release of a new trio album, Latin American Songbook, vol. 2, which has a special focus on the Afro-Caribbean musical traditions of his native Venezuela. Simon is well known to Athenaeum audiences from his high-energy performance last summer with guitarist-vocalist Camila Meza and past appearances with the SFJAZZ Collective and the Steel House trio with Scott Colley and Brian Blade. JazzTimes commented, “[Simon] may be the most complete creative artist … among many important jazz pianists from the Caribbean and South America.” DownBeat commented, “One of the strongest pianists of his generation, with intuitive empathy and drum-like ingenuity, Simon solos compositionally with passionate elegance.” Visit: https://www.ljathenaeum.org/events/jazz-25-0126 Athenaeum Music & Arts Library on Instagram and Facebook
