Edward Simon
Jazz returns to the Athenaeum for our annual series of winter concerts in the Joan & Irwin Jacobs Music Room (at 1008 Wall Street in La Jolla). This series features both Athenaeum favorites and debuts by internationally acclaimed artists. Seating is limited so order soon!
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.”
The series continues Friday, March 7, with a San Diego debut by Allison, Cardenas & Nash, a collective trio of top New York City–based artists bassist Ben Allison, guitarist Steve Cardenas, and saxophonist Ted Nash. The trio weave musical conversations that are full of subtlety and surprise. They have released four albums including their latest, Tell the Birds I Said Hello: The Music of Herbie Nichols, which features previously unknown music by Nichols, an underpraised pianist-composer often compared to Thelonious Monk. The trio is modeled after reedist-composer Jimmy Giuffre’s drummer-less groups of the 1950s and 60s. As jazz was becoming more expressionistic and at times bombastic, musicians like Giuffre were going in the opposite direction. They were envisioning quieter music that maintained elements of blues and folk, while also embracing the emerging qualities of free playing. JazzTimes recognized Allison as, “a visionary composer, adventurous improviser, and strong organizational force on the New York City jazz scene.” Nash is a Grammy-winning artist known for his long tenure with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. DownBeat called him “one of the most together saxophonists of his generation.”
Next up, on Wednesday, March 12, is a return visit by the remarkable Sullivan Fortner Trio, featuring Fortner on piano, Tyrone Allen on bass, and Kayvon Gordon on drums. New Orleans–native Sullivan Fortner has gained wide recognition as one of the most accomplished jazz musicians of his generation. His accolades include the 2015 Cole Porter Fellowship, the Leonore Annenberg Arts Fellowship, the 2016 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists and, in 2020, the Shifting Foundation Grant for artistic career development. A Grammy Award–winner, he has earned recognition in multiple DownBeat Critics Polls, winning first place as both Rising Star Pianist and Rising Star Jazz Artist. His broad range of musical associations includes artists such as Roy Hargrove, Stefon Harris, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Wynton Marsalis. The New York Times wrote, “Fortner’s fundamentals as a player could hardly be stronger, and his instincts as a composer and bandleader are almost startlingly mature ... he is an artist with his own distinct style.” Pulling elements from different eras, he finds connections among different musical styles that are at once deeply soulful and wildly inventive.
The series concludes on Wednesday, March 19, with the local debut of the Avishai Cohen Quartet, featuring Cohen on trumpet, Yonathan Avishai on piano, Barak Mori on bass, and Ziv Ravitz on drums. Cohen is globally recognized as a player-composer open to multiple strains of jazz and active as a leader, co-leader, and sideman. Aside from the acclaimed work with his quartet, he has also recorded and toured as part of the Mark Turner Quartet, the SFJAZZ Collective, and the 3 Cohens Sextet—with his sister, clarinetist-saxophonist Anat, and brother, saxophonist Yuval. In 2024, Cohen released his newest album, Ashes to Gold (ECM Records), a deeply introspective and richly textured exploration of life’s transitions and renewal. The album showcases Cohen’s ability to blend lyrical beauty with technical brilliance, further solidifying his reputation as an innovator in contemporary jazz. Named as Artistic Director of the International Jerusalem Festival, Cohen has also been voted as a Rising Star on three consecutive occasions in the DownBeat Critics Poll. JazzTimes called him “one of the most creative trumpet players in jazz,” adding, “Like Miles Davis, he can make the trumpet a vehicle for uttering the most poignant human cries.”
The concerts will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. There are no physical tickets for these events. Your name will be on an attendee list at the front door. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. These events will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of each concert.