The Breakdown: Clave w/ SFJAZZ Collective's Edward Simon & Matt Brewer

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SFJAZZ Collective pianist Edward Simon and bassist Matt Brewer break down the concept of the clave, the fundamental rhythmic basis of much Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean music, using examples to illustrate the pulse and how to listen for it.

“One of the strongest pianists of his generation” (DownBeat), Simon is a native of Punta Cardón, Venezuela. He 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.

His 2017 Sunnyside trio session Latin American Songbook won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album, and his most recent album, Femininas, celebrates the legacy of the women songwriters of Latin America including Marta Valdés of Cuba, Chabuca Granda of Peru, Violeta Parra and Elizabeth Morris of Chile, and Joyce of Brazil.

Simon became a member of the SFJAZZ Collective in 2010 and was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship the same year.

Matt Brewer was born in Oklahoma City and grew up in Albuquerque NM, surrounded by a family of musicians and artists. Matt fell in love with the bass at age 10 and began a lifelong study of music. He graduated high school from the Interlochen Arts Academy, and then went on to study at the Juilliard School.

He's travelled the world playing in the bands of Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Greg Osby, Steve Coleman, Dave Binney, Gerald Clayton, Ben Wendel, Aaron Parks, Vijay Iyer, Dhafer Youssef, Antonio Sanchez, Mark Turner, Steve Lehman, Ben Monder, and Lage Lund, among many others).

He has been a frequent guest lecturer at the Banff Center and is an adjunct faculty member at the New School University. He joined the SFJAZZ Collective in 2018.

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***SFJAZZ is a non-profit organization that presents year round jazz concerts, festivals and educational programs at the SFJAZZ Center in San Francisco, CA.