Simon Mulligan
“The most abundantly gifted of pianists”
The Times
Although many jazz musicians are also trained classical musicians, it is unusual for an artist to manage successful ongoing careers in both fields. Pianist Simon Mulligan is certainly one who has achieved this, with impressive results. At the age of 19 he recorded his first classical CD under the direction of Yehudi Menhuin, launching a collaboration that lasted over seven years. Since that time he has included live work with numerous orchestras including the BBC Symphony as well as appearances at the likes of the Wigmore, Carnegie and Royal Albert Halls. He has also performed for President Barack Obama, Her Majesty The Queen and the Royal Family, and has collaborated with Dame Shirley Bassey, Branford Marsalis, Liza Minnelli, Van Morrison, and Sting. As a composer, he has worked in both TV and film, including “Band of Brothers” in association with Michael Kamen. He has made in excess of 17 CD's covering both the classical and jazz repertoire, including the music of Ivor Novello, American Songbook Vols 1 and 2 and his most recent CD entitled "Latin Jazz". Intriguingly Simon’s jazz bona fides are equally as strong, performing with his London quartet, ‘The SMQ’, and his US-based trio, ‘The Simon Alliance’, featuring bassist Gene Perla and drummer Adam Nussbaum. For this 606 date Simon will be joined by his fantastic quartet, Frank Walden on sax, along with Andy Hamill-bass & Justin Woodward-drums.
“Pianist Simon Mulligan plays up a storm” Dallas Morning News; “The most abundantly gifted of pianists” The Times; "...the sax player, Frank Walden. He was stunning!" Cafesaxophone