BIOGRAPHY
Emmanuel Simon is a versatile musician from Paris, France, acting in Jazz, Latin-American, Funk, Pop, World, Bollywood, Fusion music and other Western modern music fields as well as composing occasionally for bands, theatre or short movies. He is a successful live and studio session musician, and has participated in several TV shows (ARRived, Jammin', the Voice, Coke Studio Bharat, etc.)
Trained as a Western classical pianist, he has completed his academic and university degrees in music theory, ear training and sight reading, Western musicology, Western classical and modern music. He has also graduated from a M.A. degree of Indian Instrumental Music from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, as a Gold Medalist. After his piano studies, he got compelled to study the incredible variety of world music, rhythms and percussion. He is nowadays a multi-talented percussionist, having knowledge in various musical cultures such as Western classical / popular, West African, Afro-Cuban, Latin-American, Flamenco, and north Indian classical musical cultures, getting taalim for the latter from the legendary tabla virtuoso late Pandit Shankar Ghosh and world-famous Maestro Bickram Ghosh.
He is a founder member, band leader and musical director of THE LATINATION, one of India's only Latin-jazz bands.
He has been performing in Europe, Middle-East and Asia collaborating with many artists and ensembles. In India, he has performed all around the country (Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Goa, Indore, Bhopal, Ranchi, Jaipur, Dehradun, Jamshedpur, Udaipur, Pondicherry, Kochi, Munnar, Udaipur, Coimbatore, Jodhpur, Hampi, etc.) in prestigious auditoriums and invited to perform in prestigious festivals. His compositions for short animated movies have been broadcasted on different TV channels (USA, Japan, Europe) and various short films festival all across the world (USA, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Russia, Europe).
Having being teaching passionately different specific types of percussion but also music as a general subject (history, ear training, theory, ensemble, notation, harmony, etc.) to various instrumentalists from different backgrounds (guitar, bass, keyboard, vocal, drums), Emmanuel Simon highly values the importance of transmission of musical knowledge through the holistic approach (psychology, body language and positions, practice & performance behaviours, etc.) and is therefore deeply dedicated to sharing his own artistic, human and professional experience, in order to give his students the tools to empower themselves as accomplished and confident musicians.
He is currently full-time faculty and Professor at the School of Performing Arts, NMIMS University, Mumbai
Festivals performed in India :
- Lollapalooza, Mumbai
- Delhi World Percussion Festival
- NH7, Pune
- NCPA Jazz Festival, Mumbai
- Kolkata Jazz Festival
- Goa International Jazz Live Festival
- Magnetic Fields Festival, Alsisar
- Delhi International Jazz Festival
- Jodhpur RIFF
- Bengaluru International Arts Festival
- Delhi International Arts Festival
- Sangeet Natak Akademi International Festival on Indian Dance, Delhi
- International Dance Fiesta, Calcutta
- CtrlAltDel, Mumbai
- Palm Expo, Mumbai
- Hampi Utsav, Hampi
- Latin Soul Fiesta, Pune
- Pondy Partages, Pondicherry
- Osho Music & Meditation Monsoon Festival, Pune
- Route2Festival, Shantiniketan
- Big Sunday Festival
etc.
Venues performed across India :
- Kamani Auditorium, Delhi
- NCPA Tata theater, Mumbai
- ICCR Satyajit Ray Auditorium, Kolkata
- Chowdiah Hall, Bangalore
- Royal Opera House, Mumbai
- Birla Sabhaghar, Calcutta
- The Piano Man Jazz Club, Delhi
- Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal
- Antisocial, Mumbai
- Purana Qila, Delhi
- Doon School Auditorium, Dehradun
- Kala Mandir, Kolkata
- The Quarter, Mumbai
- Blue Frog, Delhi & Bangalore
- Central Park, Delhi
- High Spirits, Pune
- The B-Flat Bar, Bangalore
- Nehru Park, Delhi
- Shisha Cafe, Pune
- Someplace Else, Calcutta
- Soundrise, Mumbai
etc.
