| Solo (up to 2.5 hours): £370 |
Simon is a very experienced guitarist who is equally at home playing background music for weddings or accompanying artists such as Maria Ewing, the acclaimed operatic soprano, in concert.
He attended Leeds College of Music and Trinity College of Music, where he studied guitar and composition. In 1981 he attended the first Master Class in Flamenco to be given by Paco Peña in Cordoba, and this traditional performing art from Spain has become a very strong influence in his career, as his wife is Spanish and he is a fluent speaker.
As a performer he made his debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1978, under the auspices of Trinity College of Music, his first appearance at the Purcell Room took place in 1983 and his solo debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1985. He founded the band Acoustic Alchemy along with Nick Webb, the band signed to MCA in 1986 and then recorded with GRP, he made his first Ronnie Scott's appearance with them in 1983.
Recordings date back to 1980 with Acoustic Alchemy, whose world wide total album sales now exceed one million, and solo albums from 1983 onwards. In 1998 along with his present duo partner Shane Hill he created the Latin jazz band Kymaera which has now released five albums. Among these ‘Into The Rainbow’ dedicated to Nick Webb and featuring the renowned opera singer Maria Ewing as their guest artist.
Based in Purley, Surrey
= areas covered (up to 500 miles)
= free travel (up to 20 miles)
This is repertoire I can play from memory
VILLA-LOBOS NO 1
VILLA LOBOS NO2
VILLA LOBOS NO 3
VILLA LOBOS NO 4
VILLA LOBOS CHOROS NO 1
AZAHARA Flamenco
ALEGRIAS Flamenco
EN TIEMPO PERDIDO Flamenco
COLOMBIANAS Flamenco
DAYBREAK Flamenco
ESPERANDO EL DIA Flamenco
BASTON DE ROBLE Flamenco
A CANELA Flamenco
POSADA DEL POTRO Flamenco
ROMANZA
LAURO WALTZ NO 2
RIERA PRELUDIO CRIOLLO
JAZMIN DE NOCHE Simon James
AGUA ARDIENTE Simon James
ADELITA Tarrega
LAGRIMA Tarrega
RECUERDOS Tarrega
GRANADA Albeniz
ASTURIAS Albeniz
GIRL FROM IPANEMA
SO DANCO SAMBA
ECHOES OF SPAIN
NUAGES
SUMMERTIME
AUTUMN LEAVES
NATURE BOY
If I read from music pretty much anything you like
Accessible power socket.
Yes for sound, no for lighting
directions, accessibility, parking.
No
Wigmore Hall, Purcell Room, Royal Festival Hall. Televised solo recital in Spain - Port De La Selva, Costa Brava. Main stage Bergen Jazz Festival Holland.
Julian Bream, Paco De Lucia, Antonio Carlos Jobim.
First serious gig Wigmore Hall 1977 as part of a musical celebration. Been giving concerts and playing jazz venues ever since including Ronnie Scotts. So far I've made 3 solo albums, 6 albums and a DVD with my band Kymaera, 1 album with my first band Acoustic Alchemy and I have more than 300 solo tracks on Spotify and 3 more solo albums for Prestige/Elite.
Jazz clubs and small informal recitals.
Sets are usually 45 minutes with a 10 minute break but they vary according to the booking. For solo guitar I only need half an hour to set up.
Only under canvas.
Requests are fine but only if I know the piece or song already. A specific request given enough time beforehand but it will cost extra.
The evening opened with the Kymaera Duo, the twin guitars of Shane Hill and Simon James, who have been performing together for over twenty years. Their beautiful and understated rendition of the classic “Summertime” set a very high bar for the rest of the evening. Soon they were joined by the tastefully yellow waist-coated Sir Willard.
The Kymaera Duo certainly played their part in the evening. ------they were soon into their stride, soloing with authority on some of the vocal pieces and revisiting their roots in three instrumental numbers, swapping lead and rhythm easily in Paco de Lucia and Django Reinhardt numbers.
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