Martin Simon & ASTROLATIN

click on the link - Hudobný Život

Interview with Martin Simon ... see link above - Gazeta Lomianki

Since forming a writing team with half Spanish, half Honduran composer and guitarist Astor Escoto in New York City over a decade ago, Martin Simon has been more extensively integrating Latin American and Spanish influences with East European folk, classical music and modern jazz.

The duo earned accolades from press for its great chemistry with the release of their compilation album Collage described by Muzik Reviews as “one of the best contemporary world guitar albums of the decade.”

The resultant compilation album titled Collage includes guitar solos and duets ranging from traditional to contemporary styles performed by the two composers with Astor Escoto playing classical guitar and Martin Simon on classical, acoustic and electric guitars, guitar synth, and vocalizations.

The product is evocative of Canadian acoustic guitar virtuoso Don Ross mixed with the playful experimentation of upright bassist (and multi-instrumentalist) George Koeller for what translates to a timeless, brain-massaging, thought-provoking collection of airy musical ruminations with world-class production.

Born in Slovakia, Simon formed his first electric jazz-rock fusion band “Jazzva” in mid ’90s and was a recepient of the “New Faces of Slovak Jazz” 1st place national award for original compositions. He was the featured artist of the Slovak Radio’s longest-running jazz series “Jazz under Pyramid.”

After moving to USA in late ’90s, he studied composition with Tania Leon in New York and completed graduate degrees in composition, performace and interactive media arts at Brooklyn College. He served as a visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute in New York. His work about collective improvisation has been published by the University Press of America.

Simon has played with David Watson (John Zorn!), Paul Steven Ray (Vernon Reid, Cyro Baptista), Salim Washington (Kenny Garret, Anthony Braxton), Chris Bacas (Buddy Rich), Jorge Amorim (Baden Powell, Al Foster), Arturo Martinez (Jose Greco), Alfonso Cid (Pilar Rioja), Carlos Hayre, Michal Urbaniak, Wojciech Karolak, The New York Mandolin Orchestra, BC Electro-acoustic Music Ensemble, among others.

He was a founding member of the freely improvising open collective ConversClub and the chamber ensemble BTY Orchestra and was later invited to the ISIM International Conference on Improvised Music in Chicago to premiere his “conversational music” along with improvisers like Oliver Lake, Art Lande, Mazen Kerbaj, Stephen Nachmanovitch, Pauline Oliveros, Anto Pett, Mark Dresser, Jane Ira Bloom, Thomas Buckner, AACM and others.

After making Poland his second home, and as a tribute to the spirit of collaboration in Collage, Simon has teamed up with two Polish-based fellow bandmates from some of Poland’s finest world music bands (Warsaw Village Band, Stilo, Rei Ceballo y Calle Sol, Magda Piskorczyk etc.) to brings to life new impassioned material from Escoto & Simon team. Named after Escoto’s nickname ‘Astro’, the three piece band is at once intimately lyrical and intensely forceful, crossing between arranged and improvised parts of sophisticated harmonies, syncopated rhythms and intriguing melody lines.

Ighuaran, Music Zeitgeist - Music Zeitgeist

Beauty never fades in the sounds of music, especially when each part blends together with such grace and eloquence as they do on Collage, the new album from Escoto & Simon. The New York-based duo consists of guitarists Martin Simon and Astor Escoto, both of whom swim in synch with the sumptuous melodies of their acoustic instruments. Embellishing their laid-back jazz style with touches of samba, classical, and flamenco music, Escoto & Simon deliver a spellbinder of a record.

The group's hushed prettiness is rooted in their long-term friendship; there is a warmth to the chemistry that could only emanate from such a close brotherhood. The two first met in the late '90s not long after Simon relocated to New York City. It was there that Simon discovered world music, the exotic sounds of Indian, Latin American, and African cultures. Simultaneously, he started to explore the local jazz scene's forays into progressive improvisation. With Escoto, Simon found a kindred spirit, one who shared his eclectic tastes; they began composing and performing with each other.

There is probably no better way of describing Escoto & Simon's creative leanings than the album title itself. Their music is truly a Collage, assembling not only their myriad inspirations but their separate ideas in a compelling whole. The tracks on Collage work on a visual and emotional level. “Studio No. 3," for example, rolls out like a film, each riff representing a different frame; it is a song that can be seen as well as felt.

Escoto & Simon have mastered the difficult art of the instrumental on Collage. This is no pointless exercise in showmanship; each tune seems to tell a story or at least convey a mood. Each listen seems to be give birth to a new interpretation, making this a record that stays in the player quite a while.

allaboutjazz.com - All About Jazz

On their latest album Collage, guitarists Martin Simon and Astor Escoto weave their own form of magic through the strings of their guitars; melding aspects of jazz, samba, classical, and flamenco music, Escoto & Simon create poetry with rhythm and melody.

Simon first met Escoto not long after relocating to New York City in the late ‘90s. Simon was born in Slovakia and started playing classical guitar at the age of 10. In New York City, Simon became exposed to various forms of music, including the native sounds of Indian, Latin American, and African cultures as well as local avant-garde experimentalism. For over a decade Simon and Honduran-born Escoto have been performing and composing songs together.

If dreams needed to hire composers, then Escoto & Simon would top the list of candidates. On "Studio No. 3," the duo unreels layers of cinematic atmosphere, producing calming, transcendent riffs that conjure images of ripples on a lake. The moody "Rain Forest II," on the other hand, aims for a late-evening feel; Escoto & Simon's guitars unite like the sun and the moon, balancing light and darkness with what feels to be a spiritual bond. Then there's "Exit," with its otherworldly textures.

Escoto & Simon are partners in the art of leaving listeners spellbound. On Collage, they craft one masterwork after another, each glistening with sun-soaked gorgeousness. Rarely does jazz music ever dazzle with such subtle artistry and fragile emotions; it will haunt your days.

Robert Sutton, Jazz Corner - Jazz Corner

Interview with Martin Simon ...see link above

http://books.google.sk/books?id=eA5G2-J-ovoC&pg=PA266&lpg=PA266&dq=martin+%C5%A0IMON+convers&source=bl&ots=pJl799baJE&sig=wJ5IQS#v=onepage&q&f=false


- UPA

W piatkowy wieczór br. w galerii Kokkoart odbyl sie koncert gitarzysty Martina Simona wraz z nowym zespolem. Tego wieczoru licznie zgromadzona publicznosc, w sympatycznej atmosferze mogla uslyszec kompozycje, utrzymane w klimacie muzyki brazylijskiej. Nie obeszlo sie bez bisów, a po zakonczeniu prawie dwugodzinnego wystepu koncert przerodzil sie w nastrojowa i kameralna impreze taneczna.

On Friday evening in Kokkart gallery the guitarist Martin Simon played a concert with his new band. That night a large crowd, in a cozy athmosphere, could hear compositions set in Brazilian mood. It didn't end without encores, and after finishing a nearly two-hour performance, the concert turned into a stirring and intimate dance party.

AM, lomianki.info - lomianki.info

The fantastic duo, Escoto & Simon, release a fabulous World Fusion album, “Collage.” This pair really knows how to create some splendid, easy listening music as you will hear the musical styles of Jazz, Rumba, Samba, Classical, and Flamenco.

Their talents on the guitar are not only breathtaking but one can hear how well they hypnotically bond together. Opening up the album, “Toque Latino,” has a nice free flowing rhythm and catches your ear with its delightful melody. “Landscape,” is a song that paints a musical picture of a warm and sunny place with peaceful surroundings. The title track, “Collage,” is delicate and dreamy as this duo performs with an elegant and classy style. The marvelous World Fusion album, “Collage,” is the perfect CD for relaxing mood music and is definitely one you will thoroughly enjoy.

-Diane and the RadioIndy.com Reviewer Team - RadioIndy

I tend to be an old fashioned purist when it comes to the classical guitar. I listen to a lot of the stuff by John Williams, Julian Bream and Andre Segovia. If it doesn't have an opus number I tend to not listen to it! When I feel adventurous I will dabble in something Spanish or Flamenco. Maybe something played by one of the Romeros.

But one of the beautiful things about the classical guitar is how it has evolved over the centuries in terms of music. It is an instrument that lends itself to world region flavors. Spanish Guitar is a good example of this. And it continues to be used gracefully and wonderfully on into an unforeseeable future.

And this is what I want to point out about this cd (Collage by Escoto & Simon)

Venturing into the present and the future

There are eleven tracks on the cd and they are all good. And they range in tone from traditional classical to flamenco-escque.

And there are three wonderful pieces right in the middle that are kind of like tone poems. They are each about a minute long and are called Hematite, Tigers Eye, and Lace Agate (Gemstones). These are some wonderful experimental pieces. And by experimental I don't mean they are off the charts in some new age way. I just mean it is neat to hear a gem as expressed by the classical guitar.

All in all its a wonderful cd with a wide range of modern classical guitar as it expressed through spanish and latin phrasings and rhythms. Very enjoyable.

My favorite track is #9 (RainForest II) It is played arpeggio style and very traditional. And track #10 runs a close second (Exit). It stays very traditional but dips into some wonderful Spanish Guitar phrasings.

Will Kalif, The Classical Guitarist - The Classical Guitarist

"A music that refuses to stand still, is reaching for future horizons, and cannot be pigeonholed." --Michael G. Nastos, jazzreview.com - jazzreview.com

Escoto's & Simon's guitar work in Collage is a short exercise in beauty.

Collage features mainly three instruments: two acoustic guitars and the occasional violin. Together, the three instruments have amazing chemistry. Escoto's and Simon's guitar work, specifically, is so terrifically blended that it's sometimes hard to tell where one stops and the other begins.

The difficult thing about the album, for some people, is that it's instrumental. Apart from some sporadic humming in a couple of the songs, there are no lyrics at all. It detracts nothing from the album. In fact, I think it would be worse off with words muddying how perfectly Collage captures certain essences of the world, but I understand that many people are turned off by the prospect of non-lyrical tunes.

Collage can be very joyful but it can also be very dark (nostalgic, even). Songs like “Collage” and “Carnival of Joy” are definitely smiling songs. It's hard to hear them and not be in a better mood and, if I had to guess, Escoto & Simon would be very pleased about that. It's easy to become lost in the variety of their cheer when, suddenly, a song like “Landscape” or “Rainforest II” will play. The differences are so huge that it's almost jarring. An emotional range like that, especially for an instrumental album, is very impressive and should be commended.

Despite some minor problems (the humming can get annoying sometimes and the album is very short), Collage might very well be one of the best contemporary world guitar albums of the decade.

* * * * *

Key Tracks: Carnival of Joy, Landscape, Collage

Keith Carberry- MuzikReviews.com
- MuzikReviews

"Identity is an endlessly variable sort of thing, so why shouldn't our national ditty occasionally stretch its wings too?"

"... rocked out, flowering in a series of musical variations."

"Being here has given one the freedom to play with some themes one might have otherwise considered sacred."
-- Simon Houpt, Globe and Mail - Globe and Mail

"... a unique sonic experience built around clear compositional intention, in some moments resembling musique concrete." -- Zuzana Vachova, Infojazz - Infojazz