Biography Art Simmons

Arthur Eugene Simmons (Glen White, West Virginia, February 5, 1926 – April 23, 2018) was an American jazz pianist.

Simmons played in a band while serving in the U.S. military in 1946. He remained in Germany after the war, studying music, and moved to Paris in 1949. There he studied at the Paris Conservatory and the Ecole Normale de Musique, playing with Charlie Parker and Kenny Clarke at the Paris Jazz Festival; he also played with Aaron Bridgers, Don Byas, Robert Mavounzy, and Nelson Williams. Simmons led his own group at the Ringside Club in 1951. In the early 1950s he played with Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones, and toured London with singers such as Bertice Reading. As resident pianist at the Mars Club, he worked with Michel Gaudry, Pierre Cullaz, and Elek Bacsik, and accompanied touring singers such as Carmen McRae and Billie Holiday (1958). In the early 1960s he played in a duo with Art Taylor.

Simmons also did arranging work for Barclay Records. In 1971 he played in Spain; following this he returned to the United States and retired.

He died on April 23, 2018 at his home in Beckley, West Virginia.

Discography (partial)

The Great Blue Star Sessions (with Dizzy Gillespie) 1952-1953 (EmArcy, 1952-53 (2004))

Art Simmons Boogie Woogie Piano Stylings (Mercury Wing, SRW 12505, Recorded In Paris, France, Released 1959)

Art Simmons was a native of Glen White, West Virginia. His father was the Rev. Albert E. Simmons of Lester, WV. For a while he was the Paris correspondent for "Jet" magazine. Art Simmons resided in post-war Paris at its heyday. Art first came to Paris in 1947 when he was serving with the 17th Special Services Band of the U.S. Army and stationed in Heidelberg, Germany. He played at the African-American Club, Chez Honey in Montparnasse. The following year he returned to Paris for the annual Jazz festival. In 1949 he recorded his first album with James Moody.

It was Moody who introduced Simmons to Kenny Clarke after he left the Army and asettled in Paris. While studying music at the Paris Conservatoire and the Ecole Normale, Simmons played piano at Chez Inez, he later played at the Mars Club and Sugar Ray Robinson's club "Ringside". The Art Simmons Trio was once performers at the "Living Room", a small Parisian jazz club which was known for its relaxed atmosphere. Many American jazz artist would visit "The Living Room" and jam with Art. Simmons inaugurated the club in 1963-thanks to Kenny Clarke. The "Living Room keept going until 1969. Art Simmons returned to West Virginia in 1972.

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