George Thomas Simon (May 9, 1912 – February 13, 2001) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

and occasional drummer. He began as a drummer and performed in this role in early versions of Glenn Miller's orchestra. He wrote about that orchestra in 1974 with '' Glenn Miller and His Orchestra'', known for being the most comprehensive writing on Glenn Miller and his big band.

Life and work

Simon was born and died in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Simon was born into a wealthy and talented family. Not only was his father wealthy, but his brother,

Richard L. Simon Richard Leo Simon (March 6, 1899 – July 29, 1960) was an American book publisher. He was a Columbia University graduate, co-founder of the publishing house Simon & Schuster, and father of singer-songwriter Carly Simon. Early life Richard Leo ...

, was the co-founder of the American publishing house Simon & Schuster, and singer-songwriter Carly Simon is one of his nieces. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1934, and began working for ''Metronome'' magazine the following year. He was editor-in-chief of ''Metronome'' from 1939 to 1955 "Critics, Journalists, and Other Writers: George T. Simon", Christopher Popa, BigBandLibrary.com, 2009, webpage:
BBL-GSimon
and shifted its emphasis from a publisher of technical articles to a chronicler of the swing era. Simon was probably the most influential jazz commentator during the swing era. Thanks to his inside connections with the jazz world, he was able to report information about bands and their personnel with great accuracy. After leaving ''Metronome'', he was involved with the Jazztone Society (1956–57), was a consultant to the Timex All-Star Jazz Show broadcast from 1957-1959, and wrote about jazz for the '' New York Herald Tribune'' and the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' daily newspapers. He also composed

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

for musicians including

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", ...

. In 1978, he won a

Grammy Award for Best Album Notes The Grammy Award – Best Album Notes has been presented since 1964. From 1973 to 1976 (the 15th through 18th Awards), a second award was presented for Best Album Notes – Classical. Those awards are listed under those years below. The award recog ...

. Simon died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

in 2001 at the age of 88, after years of suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. He was inducted into the

Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame The Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame is part of a US-based non-profit organization (The Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame Foundation) that began operations in 1978 and continues to the present (2022) in San Diego County, California. David Larkin is cur ...

the following year (2002).

Selected bibliography

*''The Feeling of Jazz'', 1961 *''The Sinatra Report'', 1965 *''The Big Bands'', 1968 *''Simon Says: The Sights and Sounds of the Big Band Era'', 1971 *''Glenn Miller and His Orchestra'', 1974 *''The Big Bands Songbook'', 1975 *''The Best of the Music Makers'', 1979"George Simon, 88, a Jazz Critic Who Reviewed The Big Bands"; retrieved May 5, 2009.
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References

External links

Jazz House
* ttps://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/george-t-simon George T. Simon InterviewNAMM Oral History Library (1994)
Pop Chronicles Interviews #160 - George T. Simon
October 26, 1971. {{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, George T 1912 births 2001 deaths American jazz drummers American people of German-Jewish descent Jewish American musicians Harvard College alumni Grammy Award winners Writers from New York City 20th-century American biographers 20th-century American drummers American male drummers Carly Simon Jazz musicians from New York (state) American male jazz musicians Simon family (publishing) 20th-century American male musicians