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SUBJECT:	Fred Simon opening for Coryell, Wertico, Gray Back to Subjects
fredsimon Jan 02 2014 at 2:22 PM	Happy new year to one and all ... I hope the coming year finds you at least reasonably well and relatively happy. Please forgive the shameless self-promotion, but I want to let you know about a gig coming up very soon: FRED SIMON, solo piano as opening act for legendary jazz guitarist LARRY CORYELL at SPACE in Evanston, IL, this Friday, January 3, 2014, at 8:00. Larry is truly one of the pioneers of jazz-rock, having forged a new musical frontier with the likes of Gary Burton, Jim Pepper, Herbie Mann, and Jack Bruce. And he’s equally fluent in more straight-ahead jazz dialects ... his gigs span a diverse range. Here’s a link to the SPACE listing, which features a great video of Larry and his trio: http://evanstonspace.com/shows/?event_id=3862694 I’ll be playing a solo set mostly consisting of my own tunes, and then Larry will be joined by old friends and colleagues, drummer Paul Wertico and bassist Larry Gray. All of us played and recorded together back in the 20th century when Larry played on some Simon & Bard Group gigs and albums. He’s been playing better than ever in recent years, so this promises to be an evening of memorable music, and a fun hang to boot ... I strongly urge you to please get down; this is one not to miss! I hope every single one of you can drop by ... it would be great to see you! As always, thanks for your past, present, and future support. Grateful Fred
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fredsimon Jan 09 2014 at 12:43 AM	By the way, on Coryell’s set, I feel it just might have been the best single performance by Paul Wertico I’ve ever heard ... it was awesome in the true sense of the word (not like "This burger is awesome!"). And if you consider that I’ve played with and heard Wertico hundreds of times over the decades, that’s really saying something.
fredsimon Jan 08 2014 at 4:06 AM	Frank, thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it. On a solo gig like this one -- with a good room, good piano, good sound, and a listening audience -- I play mostly my own compositions. When I play my Songs of My Youth show, the playlist might go something like this: I Want To Hold Your Hand, You Can Close Your Eyes, I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You, And I Love Her, All You Need Is Love, Do You Want To Know A Secret, You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away, I’m Looking Through You, Hey That’s No Way To Say Goodbye, Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight, Hurt, Let’s Stay Together, Don’t Let Me Down, We Can Work It Out, Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright, What’ll I Do?, Don’t Let It Bring You Down, I Get Along Without You Very Well, Don’t Get Around Much Anymore, Tomorrow Never Knows. As to whether I play differently solo than in larger groups, the answer is yes ... you have to and you should. And no ... I always sound like myself, for better or for worse.
fredsimon Jan 08 2014 at 3:55 AM	Larry couldn’t fly in because of the weather, so the audience was invited to stay for a set by Paul Wertico, Larry Gray, and me. It was a real blast for us, and almost everyone (a full house to begin with) did stick around, which was very gratifying. They loved the set, and showed their love. The next day, I played solo and Coryell and trio played a fantastic set, and again the audience showed their love. Further gratifying was that so many people told me they felt they had doubled their pleasure and doubled their fun ... two concerts for the price of one!
franksexton Jan 06 2014 at 11:41 AM	Fred, I remember you writing that you played Innocence by Keith Jarrett for your daughter. I would pay to hear you play that . What are some of the songs on your playlist when performing solo? Do you play differently than when you play in larger groups ?
bluepno Jan 05 2014 at 9:49 PM	Enjoy the evening...you guys will blow the roof off of the joint.
MarcNebo Jan 05 2014 at 11:05 AM	I had a reserved seat for that show, but due to the East coast snowstorm Larry Coryell was unable to make it. They rescheduled the show for 2:00 on Saturday. Fred Simon, Larry Gray and Paul Wertico played instead. I could have stayed but my ears were ready for Larry Coryell. Also I wanted a more memorable show to be my first this year.
Oystein Jan 03 2014 at 6:02 AM	Sounds like one of those "complete" gigs! Wish I could be there, and I would if I lived closer to the action... ...but instead I`ll spend the evening sitting by the freezing cold Norwegian ocean, gazing at the Northern Light as it flashes across the dark midnight skies.
tiny_tim Jan 03 2014 at 3:49 AM	Fred, how true indeed with the paragraphs. And....many spins on my old turntable of Larry’s "Introducing The Eleventh House" disc!
fredsimon Jan 02 2014 at 10:56 PM	Man, do I wish I could insert some paragraph breaks when I post in this forum ... this is 2014, there are robots on Mars but we can’t insert paragraph breaks?!
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