Bassist, composer and arranger (Jazz, World, Pop, Music for films)
French musician, composer, arranger
After obtaining a degree in musicology and studying classical double bass, Simon Mary began playing jazz. He has performed with Steve Potts, Kenny Wheeler, Denis Leloup, Georges Arvanitas, Baptiste Trotignon, Sara Lazarus, Alain Jean-Marie, Méderic Collignon, Daniel Givone among many others.
In 1999 he founded Mukta, a pioneering world-jazz band in Europe, with whom he recorded six albums on the Warner Jazz label, and performed for twelve years all over the world. The group was nominated twice for the prestigious Victoires de la Musique, the French equivalent of the Grammy Awards.
His desire for new musical encounters and discoveries have led him to play with musicians from traditional music, ranging from India to Brittany, and from the Balkans to Korea (Biswajit Roy Chowdury, Loten Namling, Didier Squiban, Ronan Robert, Mihai Trestian, Yom, E’Joung-Ju).
He has also worked in the worlds of theater (Enzo Corman, Théatre Nuit, Skene Productions) storytelling and litterature as well as for cinema (Le nouveau monde, directed by Alain Corneau).
He has performed and recorded with well-known French singer-songwriters, such as Katerine, Miossec, Alexis Hk and Ignatus.
He has performed on stages around the world, including the Montreux Jazz Festival, Jazz Yatra in Bombay, the Crystal Ballroom in Portland Oregon, les Eurockéennes, the Nice Jazz Festival, les Nuits de Fourvière, the New Morning and l'Olympia in Paris, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the North Sea Jazz Festival, the Casino de Paris, the Festival Interceltique de Lorient, the Django Reinhardt Festival in Samois, Transmusicales, the Francofolies in Montreal and in La Rochelle, the Printemps de Bourges and the Festival d'Eté in Quebec City.
He has recorded over 70 albums in various categories, including jazz, pop, french songs, world music, electro-jazz, and soundtracks.
In 2018, with musicians from jazz, classical and world music, he created a new ensemble, « Krystal Mundi», which blends written composition and improvisation.
His main influences range from French impressionists to repetitive music and from Jazz to Indian classical music.

(English translation : A.Arleo)

S. Mary