Mark Simon Trio

"Mark is an eloquent and energetic player and composer in the bebop tradition. His years with Leroy Vinnegar certainly are evident and have left their mark with a strong rhythmic approach to the trio sound"
- Gordon Lee - pianist, composer and recording artist

This trio has the experience and versatility to provide excellent and appropriate music from wedding receptions to wine tasting events, from restaurants and nightclubs to the concert stage. We truly enjoy playing with each other, and you can hear that in our music.

Take Mark Simon’s heartfelt jazz piano interpretations and award winning-compositions, add to it Dave Averre’s impeccable sense of timing and musicianship, mix in Leah Hinchcliff’s big ears and keen intuition and you have the Mark Simon Trio.

This trio doesn’t just play songs, they clearly communicate feelings. Listeners identify with the emotion of the moment, whether it is joy, reflection, folly, seriousness, wonderment or blueness.

This music is easy to listen to, attracting fans that might otherwise not care for jazz. However, this music is also embedded with deep substance, providing appeal for the serious jazz listener.

Mark Simon Trio - 2009 demo

What They Say (Mark Simon)
Make Someone Happy (Jule Styne)
When I Fall In Love (Edgar Heyman and Victor Young)
Caramel Creek (Mark Simon)
Glad Bags (Mark Simon)
Old Devil Moon (Burton Lane)
Blue Room (Richard Rogers)

Recorded on 1/13/09 by engineer Johnny Martin at Good Job Studio (Portland, OR).

Mark Simon

Born in Chicago, jazz pianist Mark Simon has been delighting Northwest jazz audiences for more than decades now. His versatile touch combined with musical depth and soul gives people of all musical backgrounds something to appreciate.

Mark won critical acclaim and heavy airplay with his 1995 CD release Portland Nights. The CD features eight Simon originals performed by musicians who collectively have performed with the likes of Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Rosemary Clooney, Mose Allison, and Tower of Power.

Mark has performed at just about every Portland venue that has had jazz in the past 30 years. In addition, his music has been heard at the Seattle Opera House (twice), Cathedral Park Jazz Festival, Mount Hood Festival of Jazz (six times) and the Rose Festival. Mark’s music has been heard on local television and radio as well as on radio stations across the country.

Highlights in Mark’s career include:

• Integral member of the Leroy Vinegar trio along with Mel Brown (4 years)
• Integral member of the Hadley Caliman Quartet (6 months)
• Concert performances with Bud Shank, Jeff Clayton, Joshua Breakstone, and Julie Kelly.
• Sitting in with many notable jazz artists, including Herb Ellis, Teddy Edwards, Red Holloway, Harry Connick Jr. (Harry on vocals, Mark on piano), Jeff Tain Watts and Russell Malone.

Over the past 30 years Mark has played with a virtual Who’s Who of the Portland jazz scene; Leroy Vinegar, Mel Brown, Ron Steen, Ralph Black, Shirley Nanette, Rob Thomas, Ben Wolfe, Dan Balmer, Dick Berk, Dave Captein, Gary Hobbs, Dan Faehnele, and countless others.

Dave Averre

Drummer/composer Dave Averre was born in Pennsylvania and graduated from The College of New Jersey with a degree in Music Education. Dave has collaborated with a variety of artists as a freelance drummer and studio musician in New York City. Dave resided in Scandinavia for two years, where in addition to other prestigious gigs, he performed at the internationally acclaimed Molde Jazz Festival and Voss Jazz Festival every year.

Dave has performed with countless notable national and international jazz musicians such as Mose Allison, Arild Andersen, John Surman, Eje Thelin, Ken Wessel, Armen Donelian, Tony Coe and acclaimed tap dancer Brenda Buffalino.

Since moving to the Portland metro area, Dave has been playing regularly with Tall Jazz and The Bryant Allard Jazz Quartet. He has also performed with many of the area’s top jazz musicians including Randy Porter, John Stowell, George Mitchell, Jerry Hahn, Dave Captein, Rob Davis and Steve Christofferson.

Leah Hinchcliff

Leah Hinchcliff has been a professional musician for over 20 years and is widely recognized as one of the NW’s premier bassists. As a first-call studio musician she has recorded with many of the NW’s top recording artists including Swamp Mama Johnson, Nicole Campbell, Mark Bosnian, Nu Shooz and Body & Soul. As a member of the successful Indie band Swamp Mama Johnson, voted Seattle’s Best Band (1999), she toured North America and sold over 40,000 records. Leah has backed up rock and roll legend Bo Diddley as well as emerging national artist Tracy Grammer.

Leah has performed at many festivals including The Portland Waterfront Blues Festival, The Fender/Catalina Island Blues Festival, and BluesStock (Memphis), and has also been seen on the television staple Oregon Today with Swamp Mama Johnson and folk singer/songwriter Tracy Grammer. Leah has been busy gigging around town with her own zydeco band, Voodoo BBQ, and with Soul Vaccination (Portland’s premier soul band).

Leah honed her skills on the upright bass at Portland State University where she participated in the jazz studies program under the direction of acclaimed jazz pianist/composer Darrel Grant. Since then, she has been performing jazz on her upright bass with many outstanding jazz artists including The Quadraphonnes (one of the finest all-women’s sax quartet in the world) and the Portland Jazz Singer Showcase.

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