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Described as “the best of us all” by no less an authority than Cuban piano giant Chucho Valdés, pianist and composer Edward Simon kicks off our series devoted to SFJAZZ Collective member projects with his all-star Femeninas project featuring vocalist Magos Herrera, percussionist Luis Quintero, bassist Reuben Rogers, and more.

A native of Punta Cardón, Venezuela, Simon moved to New York in 1989 and worked extensively as part of Bobby Watson’s Horizon and the Terence Blanchard Group while doing sideman work with artists including Greg Osby, Bobby Hutcherson, Paquito D’Rivera and Herbie Mann. He co-founded the band Afinidad with saxophonist David Binney and formed Ensemble Venezuela in 2003 to explore the music of his homeland. He joined the SFJAZZ Collective in 2010 — the same year he was named a Guggenheim fellow.

His 2023 album, Femeninas, celebrates the music of an underrecognized group of master composers. In Simon’s words, “This project spotlights the contributions of Latin American women songwriters, living and past, well-known and unknown, such as Violeta Parra (Chile), Marta Valdes (Cuba), Chabuca Granda (Peru), Elizabeth Morris (Argentina), and Joyce [Moreno] (Brazil). These incredible songwriters have created beautiful songs that should be internationally known.”