#332 Simon Moullier- Vibraphonist, Producer, Composer, and More!
This week’s guest is Simon Moullier. Vibraphonist, producer, composer, and bandleader, Simon Moullier has distinguished himself as one of the leading voices of his generation. After studying classical percussion with Hedy Réjiba in Nantes, France, he quickly became recognized for his entirely new approach and sound on the instrument. Moullier went on to complete an undergraduate degree from Berklee College of Music where he was mentored by trumpeter Darren Barrett, followed by a Master’s degree from the Thelonious Monk Institute where he studied with Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter & Jimmy Heath among others.
He has since shared the stage with such jazz luminaries as Herbie Hancock, Buster Williams, Gerald Clayton, Logan Richardson, Mark Turner and is featured on recordings with Kendrick Scott, Miguel Zenon, Dayna Stephens.
Simon is an active touring musician, having performed worldwide at many of the most-respected jazz clubs and festivals, including the Village Vanguard, Blue Note Tokyo/Beijing, Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center NYC, The International Jazz Day Festival in Cuba and Russia.
In the fall 2020, he releases his debut album “Spirit Song”. He follows up less than a year after, in June 2021, with his standards Trio Album “Countdown”, which was nominated in the “Best New Jazz Artist” at the Jazz Music Award in 2022. His latest album “Isla“ is scheduled for release in February 2023.
Besides his work as a performer, Moullier is an active educator and spent many hours doing community outreach in Cuba, Indonesia, Panama and India.
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to Brevan Hampden! Born in New York City in 1985, Brevan was born instantly a member of a high-level musical family; his father Ivan, who has toured with Luther Vandross, Vanessa Williams, Jennifer Lopez, Roberta Flack, Grady Tate, and Ashford & Simpson, and his mother Brenda, who has performed on Broadway, with Dizzy Gillespie, Angie Bofill, Marian Anderson, and Jazzmobile.
After moving to Durham, NC in 1988, Brevan began showing signs of talent in music from age 7. He began playing percussion in church with his mother and brother at age 9. Soon after, he began playing pick up gigs and at other churches in the Raleigh/Durham area. His older brother Brian moved to North Carolina when Brevan was 9, and introduced him to the world of Latin and World Percussion. Brevan learned how to read music in middle school, playing in concert band and jazz band, and participated in the marching band once moving on to high school. Although there were no high school programs that catered to Latin percussion or jazz/popular music in general, Brevan continued his study of percussion, by listening to and being influenced by percussionists Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaria, Carlos “Patato” Valdes, Tata Guines, Changuito, Giovanni Hidalgo, Angel “Cachete” Maldonado, Tito Puente, Miguel “Anga” Diaz, Tomas “El Panga” Ramos and other artists such as Curtis Mayfield, James Brown, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, Kool and the Gang, Parliament, Daryl “Munyungo” Jackson, Leon “Ndugu” Chancelor, Steve Kroon, Roger Squitero, Sheila E. and Luis Conte.
Twice, during his high school years, Brevan attended the Berklee World Percussion Festival in Boston, where he studied with Giovanni Hidalgo, Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, Eguie Castrillo, and Ernesto Diaz. This helped further his knowledge of percussion, and of music in general, which, upon his return to North Carolina allowed him to continue performing locally, with bands such as Junk in the Trunk, Samecumba, Carnavalito, and the North Carolina Central University (NCCU) Jazz Ensemble, with whom his other brother, Iajhi, was performing at the time.
Happy Birthday to Brian Frasier-Moore! Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, grew up in church playing drums at the age of 5. His professional career started 1993 and continues to the present. He has performed with artists like: The Whitehead Brothers, Les Nubians, Jill Scott, Glenn Lewis, Aaliyah, Usher, Goodie Mob, Patti LaBelle, George Howard, Vivian Green, Bruce Parham(Gospel), Ernie Sanders(Gospel), Steve Middleton(Gospel), Vikter Duplaix, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, Billy Paul, Bunny Sigler,Teddy Pendergrass, James Poyser, Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake, Ciara, Eric Benet, Ginuine, Toni Braxton, Keny "Babyface" Edmonds, Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Timbaland, Queen Latifah. More of his recording credits can be found by CLICKING HERE.
Gig Alerts
Registration is open for the 2023 Drum Fantasy Camp - our 15th annual camp and 17th DFC event! The camp will take place August 4-8 at the beautiful Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
At DFC, you spend one full day in a class of 20 with each of our four iconic instructors: David Garibaldi, Gary Husband, Larnell Lewis and Dave Weckl. Our amazing band will be back for a concert (TBA) and nightly jams where attendees sit in! The band features Hagar Ben Ari (The Late Late Show with James Corden), Stu Mindeman (Kurt Elling/Dave Weckl), Chrissi Poland (Michael Bolton/Moby), and Vinny Valentino (George Benson/Vital Information).
Learn more about the camp + pricing and register here!
Sting and Shaggy are announcing their One Fine Day music festival. The festival will take place in September at The Mann in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, PA.
Headlining the main stage at TD Pavilion at The Mann, Sting and Shaggy will perform their biggest hits together. Both singers will collaborate on “Every Breath You Take,” “Englishman In New York,” “Message In A Bottle,” “It Wasn’t Me,” “Boombastic,” “Angel,” and many more. The One Fine Day performance in Philadelphia is the only time the USA where Sting and Shaggy will perform together. Both are managed by Cherrytree Music Company CEO Martin Kierszenbaum. -Article
Beyoncé kicks off her highly-anticipated 56-date Renaissance World Tour with a sold-out show in Stockholm.
Music icon Beyonce made an emotional return to the global stage with a sold-out show in Stockholm, Sweden, at Friends Arena, the first performance to kick off her massively-anticipated 56-date 2023 tour.
Produced by Parkwood Entertainment and promoted by Live Nation, the tour continues with a second night in Stockholm tomorrow and additional shows throughout Europe in May and June, then onto North America for concerts in July, August, and September. -Article
Damon has some upcoming gigs in NY, MA and more. You can check out his public dates on his website.
Educational Spotlight
PASIC registration opens today! Head over to the website to sign up and get the best price before registration increases on June 30. Did you know the best way to save on registration fees is to join PAS? Learn more about membership here.
Iconic recording
The iconic recording was chosen by Simon. It is Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird” performed by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Damon’s favorite part is the “Infernal Dance”.
Music News
A former ByteDance executive fired from the company has filed a lawsuit alleging the company has backdoor access to U.S. user data in China.
The lawsuit alleges that ByteDance stole content from competitors like Instagram and Snapchat and served as a propaganda tool for the Chinese government by suppressing or promoting content favorable to the country’s interests. These allegations have been discussed in the United States for months now, with FBI Director Christopher Wray urging Congress to take action against the app. -Article
How much does a commercially prominent pop group make from Spotify royalties when signed to a major label? That’s one of several questions that industry researcher Daniel Johansson attempts to answer in a new “quantitative analysis of Swedish artists on Spotify.”
Johansson, a lecturer at the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, just recently published the almost 50-page deep dive into the economics of Spotify royalties. As part of the comprehensive study, the longtime Musikindustrin contributor analyzed “all Swedish artists that have generated more than 1 million streams on Spotify since its release,” per the report, factoring for a staggering 267.82 billion total plays from 8,339 acts in the process. -Article
Seth Rogen is joining the chorus with Snoop Dogg asking why streaming platform profits don’t seem to end up in artists’ hands.
The ongoing Writers Guild of America strike has prompted comments from Snoop Dogg, who suggested music artists might do the same to DSPs. Now Seth Rogen is weighing in to say that maybe top executives shouldn’t have massive compensation packages. -Article
Simon Moullier Interview
The song leading into the interview is “Empress of the Sea” performed by Simon and his group from the ‘Isla’ album.
Damon was introduced to Simon by friend of the show, Juan Diego Villalobos.
Damon brings up Simon’s latest two recordings, Isla and Countdown.
Simon and Damon talk about the use of the motor, vibrato and the Love Vibe from Malletech.
Shout-out to Steve Nelson.
Simon attended the Thelonious Monk Institute which is now called Herbie Hancock Institute.
Simon also attended Berklee College of Music.
Simon is from Nantes, France.
Simon attended the Berklee summer music program before applying there for college.
Shout-out to Darren Barrett who Simon studied with.
Simon talks about his audition for the Herbie Hancock institute.
Shout-out to Herb Alpert and his foundation.
Simon attended a conservatory of music in his hometown. He talks about how he chose his instruments.
Simon studied with Hédy Réjiba and Nathalie Laurent while in school in France.
Simon talks about his formative years and schedules in school.
Shout-out to the Jazz Foundation of America.
In this instagram post (below) you can see the Balafon on the left and the quarter-tone bars (in gold) on vibraphone the right.
Damon talks about a quarter-tone marimba. Friend of the show Eduardo Leandro and one of Robert’s students performed a piece using it.
Simon has a new standards album coming out on October 20th with his trio.
Simon arranged a song on Terri Lyne Carrington’s album, “New Standards” that won a Grammy this past year.
Simon chooses the iconic recording for the week.
Shout-out to Darren Barrett, Hal Crook, Hédy Réjiba and Nathalie Laurent.
