Since I was a child, music has been fascinating to me. I'm on a never-ending quest searching for the essence. I have realized that you don't have to come up with something new all the time. What’s important is that you play spontaneously.
Continue readingThis method book is not about improvisation, but the exercises serve as preparatory material to that end, helping with the familiarisation of melodic and harmonic material found in tonal music. The primary objectives include ear training, development of insight and understanding, flexibility in all keys, and achieving a feel for how different scales work together.
Continue readingBert Jansma (jazz journalist): "Such nonsense, those discussions about jazz-then, jazz-now, jazz-in-the-future and jazz- how! Jazz by five musicians who got together 'just' to make beautiful music."
Continue readingBeing the son of saxophone player Bob Rigter, Simon Rigter (The Netherlands, 1973) grew up in a musical environment. At age 10 he started taking classical flute lessons and at age 12 Simon started playing the saxophone.
He studied at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague from 1989 until 1996, where he was taught by John Ruocco. Subsequently, he studied with Ferdinand Povel at the Hilversum Conservatoire. He graduated in 1997.
As a recording artist Simon can be heard with Dutch Jazz Orchestra, Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra, The Reeds, Curtis Fuller, Slide Hampton, John Marshall, Cees Slinger, Victor Kaihatu, Peter Beets, Ruud Breuls, and Erik Doelman. He performed with George Coleman, Joe Cohn, Jim Rotondi, Nancy Marano, Alvin Queen, Ferdinand Povel, Ruud Jacobs, Pim Jacobs, Frans Elsen, Rob van Kreeveld, Peter Beets, and Marco Kegel and toured in China, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, India, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, and South America.
Simon is a teacher at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and plays 1st tenor in The Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw. He also plays with Bop2B, Equinox, The Ruud Breuls/Simon Rigter Quintet and Tenor Conclave.
In the spring of 2024 Simon released a ballad album entitled Growing Up. The album is recorded at MCO, Studio 2 Hilversum, The Netherlands.
Simon wrote a method book entitled Moving Motives. It is not about improvisation, but the exercises serve as preparatory material to that end, helping with the familiarisation of melodic and harmonic material found in tonal music. The primary objectives include ear training, development of insight and understanding, flexibility in all keys, and achieving a feel for how different scales work together.
Het gaat om de muziek. Punt! - Interview voor Podium Jong Professionals Jazz Voorschoten (PJPJ)