Introduction
Maurice James Simon (born March 26, 1929, Houston, TX - died August 6, 2019) was a jazz saxophonist.
A high school classmate of Eric Dolphy (1945-6) Simon appears on an early 1945 Los Angeles recording in a band led by Russell Jacquet and which also included Teddy Edwards, Charles Mingus, Bill Davis and Chico Hamilton.
In 1948, again with Jacquet as leader, Simon was in an all-star band recording in Detroit, which included Sonny Stitt, Leo Parker, Sir Charles Thompson, Al Lucas and Shadow Wilson.
He went on to join the Gerald Wilson Orchestra which also included Snooky Young, Red Kelly and Melba Liston.
In 1950 he recorded for Savoy Records backing Helen Humes in a big band with Dexter Gordon, Ernie Freeman, Red Callender and J.C. Heard.
In the 1970s he was a member of the Duke Ellington orchestra.
He also played with Fats Domino, Papa John Creach, Big Maybelle, Faye Adams, Bumble Bee Slim, Percy Mayfield and B. B. King.