Jeff Denson, Edward Simon, & Mark Ferber

Jeff Denson, Double Bass Edward Simon, Piano Mark Ferber, Drums Ever exploring new musical possibilities, bassist/composer/vocalist, Jeff Denson brings together an all-star trio with Venezuelan virtuoso pianist, Edward Simon, and the brilliant and powerful drummer, Mark Ferber for what will for sure be a thrilling trio! For their debut performances as a trio, the group will be performing a number of Jeff's recent compositions along with some pieces by Edward, and some of their favorite compositions by Wayne Shorter, Thelonious Monk, and select jazz standards. “Double bassist Jeff Denson capitalizes on his considerable gifts as an improviser, performer and sonic trailblazer.” – Downbeat Magazine “One of the strongest pianists of his generation, with intuitive empathy and drum- like ingenuity, Simon solos compositionally with passionate elegance.” — DownBeat Magazine “Highly regarded inside the alternative jazz circles, Ferber’s playing shows uncommon empathy along with a relaxed, rhythmically assured sense of swing.” – Bill Milkowski About Jeff (jeffdenson.com) Heralded as "Master of the Jazz Bass," by San Francisco Chronicle, Jeff Denson is an award-winning bassist, vocalist, and composer who has released 16 albums as a leader or co-leader and toured extensively throughout the US, Canada, and Europe with both his own groups and others at some of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals such as the Village Vanguard, Birdland, The Kennedy Center, JVC Jazz Festival Paris, Montreal Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, and SFJazz, among many others. Jeff has worked with some of jazz’s finest artists such as Brian Blade, Joe Lovano, Chris Potter, Mike Stern, Charles McPherson, Billy Childs, Jane Ira Bloom, Craig Handy, Ingird Jensen, Dave Douglas, Walter Smith III, Kendrick Scott, Rachel Z, Omar Hakim, Gerald Cleaver, Anat Cohen, Warren Wolf, Leo Genovese, Etienne Charles, Edward Simon, Paul McCandless, Cuong Vu, Ralph Alessi, Dan Weiss, Lionel Loueke, Paul Hanson, Romain Pilon, Mimi Fox, and many others, and had an ongoing relationship with the legendary Lee Konitz for over a decade until his passing in 2020. Jeff’s work has been reviewed in many of the world’s leading periodicals including The New York Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, along with many more international periodicals, and has been ranked in the DownBeat Rising Star Critics Poll 13 times in the Bass, Electric Bass and Male Vocalist categories, and was the First Place Winner of the 69th Annual DownBeat Magazine Rising Star Critics Poll for “Electric Bass” in 2021. Jeff is the Founder and President of Ridgeway Arts, Inc., a 501c3 arts nonprofit organization and the Dean of Instruction at the California Jazz Conservatory in Berkeley. About Edward (edwardsimon.com) Edward Simon, a native of Venezuela, has made a name for himself over decades in America as a jazz improviser, composer-arranger and band leader, with his profile heightening in recent years as he has explored the commonalities jazz can have with the folkloric sounds of Latin America. JazzTimes summed up his impact this way: “Simon is less talked about than many other important jazz pianists from the Caribbean and South America, but he may be the most complete creative artist among them.” Based in the San Francisco Bay Area as a member of the all-star SFJAZZ Collective, he has been a Guggenheim Fellow along with being awarded multiple composition grants as part of the Chamber Music America’s New Jazz Works initiative and a recipient of the NAACP Image Award. Simon, a Yamaha artist, has recorded 18 albums as a leader or co-leader and has worked with some of the biggest names in jazz including Terence Blanchard, Dianne Reeves, Mark Turner, David Binney, Jerry Gonzalez, Brian Blade, John Patitucci, and many more. The New York Times has praised Simon’s “light, warm touch” as a pianist, while Jazz Journal International singled out “his deep emotional statements” as a composer and improviser. Edward is also a sought-after educator and is a professor at the California Jazz Conservatory and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. About Mark (markferber.com) Drummer Mark Ferber can be heard on over 200 recordings. Ongoing projects include ECM recording artist Ralph Alessi’s ‘This Against That’, the Marc Copland Quartet, the Brad Shepik Organ Trio, and his twin brother, Alan Ferber’s Grammy nominated big band and nonet. He currently maintains a busy freelance schedule throughout Los Angeles’ and New York’s jazz clubs, recording studios, and international touring circuit. Past work includes tours and recordings with Lee Konitz, Gary Peacock, Jonathan Kreisberg, John O’Gallagher, Don Byron, Fred Hersch, Tony Malaby, Anna Webber, Mark Helias, Pete McCann, Matt Pavolka, Michael Attias and Billy Childs, among others. Mark has taught extensively in the United States and Europe. He has worked as a faculty member for the California Institute of the Arts, the Tavira Jazz Workshop in Portugal, the School of Improvisational Music (SIM), City College of New York, The Maine Jazz Camp and The Lafayette Summer Music Jazz Workshop. He currently is Professor of Drumset at Cal State University, Fresno. He was born and raised in Moraga, CA and received a degree in Biogeography from UCLA. Mark is an endorsing artist for Istanbul Cymbals.