Renowned, award-winning smooth jazz pianist Brian Simpson has long been a favourite of ours at Vivascene. Following our preview article recently that featured his new album Midnight Groove, we were privileged to interview Brian. We began by asking him about his talent for taking on many roles in the process of building a career.
Once again, your latest album is notable for its many collaborations in composition, performance and production. How have you managed to take on so many roles so successfully throughout your career?
I guess you could say it was out of necessity. A natural curiosity about how good songs are written and produced has kept me motivated throughout my career, to always strive for something better and more developed than I’ve already achieved.
The album cover shows you at a grand piano, and you’ve mentioned that Oscar Peterson, the grand piano virtuoso, was one of your biggest influences. Is the grand piano your instrument of choice for composition and performance? If so, how does that affect the logistics of touring?
The grand piano is the instrument I choose to communicate my musical ideas, and all my albums feature me on the piano. When it comes to live performances however I mostly end up on a digital piano keyboard just out of convenience. I have several strong musical influences but Oscar was indeed the most important, particularly when it comes to the rhythmic “feel” that I’m trying to achieve. His virtuosity was second to none, but his sense of timing was a huge part of what drew me to him.
Can you think of a special album and/or event that influenced or shaped your musical direction?
Joe Sample’s Ashes To Ashes album was most certainly the benchmark for me when producing my first album Closer Still in 1995. Joe had achieved what I considered a perfect album at that time and I knew it was a direction I wanted to follow.
You moved to Shanachie Records several years ago and have stayed with them. Being with the right record label can make or break an artist. Can you offer any comments on your relationship with Shanachie?
I simply love the relationship I have there. To begin with, not to sound too clichéd, they believed in me. They allowed me to evolve as an artist and the head of A&R, Danny Weiss, in particular always knew when I needed some constructive criticism, and he was always right.
You’ve worked with many of the top artists in contemporary jazz: Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Boney James, Dave Koz. You also spent a decade or more as the Music Director for Jazz Ocean Cruises with Dave Koz and others. Tell us about your experience.
I spent a decade in George Duke’s band and also worked with him on many package tours, where he acted as the musical director. Whether I realized it or not at the time, I was taking copious mental notes. Learning to deal with a variety of artists egos, temperaments, and abilities were all things that would serve me well in my later roles as a musical director of many jazz events and cruises. Now that I’ve joined the ranks of elder statesmen I’m only happy to discover young talent and collaborate whenever possible.
In closing, is there any message you would like to pass on to your audience?
I can only hope others find comfort in music the same way I have throughout my life. If you hear love, peace, kindness, romance, and humor in my music then you are hearing it properly.
Thank you, Brian, for agreeing to speak with Vivascene and giving us insight on your career.
Readers can check out our preview of his new album through this link: Midnight Groove.
