Richard Simon

Born in Kansas City, Richard inherited his grandfather’s violin and, at age 12, won a seat in the Kansas City Youth Symphony. After high school he put music aside, earned an MA in English and accepted an English teaching position in Los Angeles. At the age of 30, he ‘discovered’ jazz and, in his words, ‘eloped with a bass.’ That relationship has proven to be an enduring one - nurturing his ‘bass instincts.’ With informal lessons from Red Callender, along with patient mentoring on countless bandstands from the ‘elder elite’ of West Coast jazz musicians, Richard became one of the busiest bass players in Los Angeles. He continues to perform worldwide at festivals, in concerts, and on numerous jazz cruises. One of his three tours of Japan was with the Ken Peplowski Big Band, immortalized on a live recording. He participated in two jams with the late, jazz-playing King of Thailand, and made festival appearances with Eddie Higgins, Lalo Schifrin, Chico Hamilton, Britt Woodman, Pete Fountain, and Jake Hanna. He has recorded with Rosemary Clooney, Teddy Edwards, Plas Johnson, Buddy Collette, Al Viola, Houston Person, Ernie Andrews and others. In 1995, he founded the UFO-BASS recording label to document the music of often-overlooked West Coast musicians. That same year, he joined Buddy Collette’s nonprofit, JazzAmerica, introducing jazz to middle school students and leading high-school ‘’WorkChops’ on weekends. Richard was recognized as the 2020 San Diego Jazz Party Legend. ‍