Venezuela: Latin American Songbook Vol. 2
Release Date: February 27, 2026
Label: ArtistShare
Venezuela: Latin American Songbook Vol. 2 is the latest richly detailed recording from pianist and composer Edward Simon. This second volume continues the NAACP Image Award winner's exploration of Latin American repertoire through jazz-informed interpretation, reuniting Simon with his acclaimed trio of Reuben Rogers on bass and Adam Cruz on drums, with a guest appearance by Venezuelan multi-instrumentalist Jackeline Rago on cuatro and maracas.
Throughout his three-decade career, Simon has consistently woven together jazz and Latin American musical traditions in work that honors both equally. Venezuela: Latin American Songbook Vol. 2 represents a deeper engagement with this musical terrain, drawing from the rich heritage of his homeland and neighboring countries to bring beloved classics and lesser-known compositions into contemporary dialogue.
Recorded on January 28-29, 2025 at Tin Roof Studio in Sonoma, California, the album features six compositions arranged and produced by Simon. The recording's polished, high-fidelity production, engineered and mixed by Jeff Cressman and mastered by Nate Wood, renders each musical detail with clarity and presence.
The album features sprawling and lush arrangements that cast folk melodies and forms in a contemporary light. These reinterpretations demonstrate the malleability of the source material, which is well-suited to the kinds of sophisticated transformations that Simon has cultivated over years of performing with leading contemporary jazz ensembles. The rhythm section of Cruz and Rogers brings authenticity to the specific rhythms of Venezuelan merengue on the opening track "Presagio" and to the buoyant joropo rhythm of "El Vuelo de la Mosca."
"This music is part of who I am," says Simon. "With Vol. 2, I wanted to go deeper, to offer an immersive listening experience that honors the original songs while bringing them into the trio's expressive language."
Simon's performances unfold with unhurried elegance, building improvisations as rich elaborations on each theme. The album's lyrical, harmonically complex mood reflects his deep command of jazz traditions, informed by decades working across contemporary styles. This is music from an artist who treats Latin American, Caribbean, West African, and American musical elements not as separate traditions but as inextricably related and universal.
PRESTON FRAZIER
SOMETHING ELSE!
"Venezuela: Latin American Songbook Vol. 2 is intimate, unhurried and deeply grounded—jazz trio music that breathes with the cadence of memory." Read the full review here.
FRANK ALKYER
DOWNBEAT
"There’s an elegance to the music of pianist and composer Edward Simon, whose love affair with the music of Latin America comes to him naturally as a native of Venezuela. He demonstrates his affection for the music of his homeland beautifully…” Read the editor's pick review here.
NATE CHINEN
THE GIG
“Pianist Edward Simon shares a hope for his homeland” Listen to the full program here.
MARK GRIFFITH
MODERN DRUMMER
"Thee way this trio focuses on, and interprets the beautiful music of Venezuela, makes you want to know more about their musical heritage and traditions." Read more here.
FRANK ALKYER
DOWNBEAT
“...an exquisite, six-tune set.” Read the full piece here.
DEE DEE McNEIL
MAKING A SCENE
"This may be Edward Simon’s best album release to date." Read more here.
JIM HYNES
POST GENRE
"These beautifully arranged pieces speak to a flourishing culture that continues to endure.” Check out the full review here.
TOM HENRY
THE TOLEDO BLADE
“This is a gorgeous set of music representing a part of the world that should be uplifted by that.” Check out the full review here.
TAKEHIKO TOKIWA
JAZZ LIFE
"Simon brilliantly captures Latin American, Caribbean, West African, and American music as inseparable and universal elements." Read the full review in Japanese here.
PAUL MEDRANO
BEST OF JAZZ
“You can feel the core history in each track, as well as how new contours stretch these songs into the present.” Check out the full review here.
PRESTON FRAZIER
SLANG OF AGES
“...Simon treats Venezuelan forms not as museum pieces, but as living language. The trio creates a contemporary soundscape that breathes new life into these wonderful Latin American classics.” Check out the full review here.
THIERRY DE CLEMENSAT
PARIS MOVE
“This is not a stylistic exercise, nor a museum-like reconstruction of inherited forms. It is an album driven by conviction and emotional investment.” Check out the full review here.
SEBASTIAN SCOTNEY
THE ARTS DESK
“...an album which definitely repays repeated and concentrated listens, and if it draws the listener back to an idealised, bygone and more innocent era of life in Venezuela, that can be no bad thing either.” Check out the full review here.
MARK SAMPSON
SOUNDS AND COLOURS
“...an elegant and classy album.” Check out the full review here.
MEL MINTER
MUSICALLY SPEAKING
“Simon’s sensitivity, alert to the nuances of romantic feeling, delivers illuminating arrangements and performances across each of the album’s six tunes.” Check out the full review here.
TIM LARSEN
JAZZ VIEWS
“Simon lets jazz improvisation and Venezuelan song sit side by side, close enough to rub against one another without either losing its shape.” Check out the full review here.
BROOKS GEIKEN
THE ARTS FUSE
“By letting the music breathe, Simon creates a serene, end-of-the-day mood.” Read the full piece here.
DEE DEE McNEIL
L.A. JAZZ SCENE
“These songs, each one unfolding like an expensive fabric enhanced by spun gold, bring peace and calm to my world.” Check out the full review here.