The four young musicians of the Simon Below Quartet studied jazz at the Cologne University of Music. Their interplay is sometimes extrovertly energetic – sometimes melancholically minimalistic! Simon Below’s compositions allow a high freedom of action. In March 2017, the quartet won a scholarship from the Werner Richard – Dr. Carl Dörken – Foundation. Their debut CD, which they recorded at the Loft in Cologne, is already in the can (release: May 2018 on „Double Moon Records Jazz thing Next Generation“). In addition, the band won the international-awarded Avignon Jazz Prize („Tremplin Jazz D’Avignon“) in August 2018. The prize was a three-day studio production at the wonderful & renowned „La Buissonne“ studio. So in August 2019 – exactly one year after the last visit to Avignon – the four musicians recorded the band’s second album. As with the first album, you can hear exclusively compositions by the band’s namesake. „Elements of Space“ was released on September 18, 2020 under the prestigious label „Traumton“. In 2020, the band received funding from the „Initiative Musik“.

Stylistically, the quartet moves in the Modern Creative with influences from the Im- and Expressionism. Openly held compositions of the namesake of the band guarantee high voltage both for the audience and always anew for the musicians themselves. „Not to capture everything from A to Z in a composition is elementary for the sound of the band. Processes of improvisation and communication should not be disturbed by too many specifications.“ So it may well happen that free improvisations come about in phases. Parts of the theme can come up at different places in the take; duo passages are also conceivable at any time. The focus is on interacting spontaneously and creating exciting music.