Composer Carlos Simon's New Album, "Together"

Released on Decca Classics, the album features 10 tracks celebrating the multifaceted layers of Simon's personality, and upbringing

GRAMMY-nominated composer Carlos Simon released his new album, Together, in collaboration with violinist and fellow Decca recording artist Randall Goosby, GRAMMY Award-winning mezzo J’Nai Bridges, GRAMMY Award-winning baritone Will Liverman, and GRAMMY-nominated cellist Seth Parker Woods.

The album also features contributions from the Carlos Simon Collective, a group which Simon founded and conducted. Made up of Chicago freelance artists, the collective is directed by fellow GRAMMY-nominated composer, violinist, educator, and friend, Jessie Montgomery.

“Together is a record that is truly representative of my musical life right now, one of collaboration, improvisation, and pure music-making. Many know me as a composer, and during this recording process, it became so clear to me how special it was to be a performer, a conductor, and a vessel of my compositions and arrangements alongside my peers,” Simon shared.

The 10-track project celebrates the multifaceted layers of Simon’s personality, upbringing, and musical understanding.

Based on an 1869 hymn by Fanny Crosby, Simon's favorite piece on the album is the new single, "Near the Cross," featuring J’Nai Bridges. Simon spent many Sundays performing the song on piano at the church in Atlanta where his father was a pastor.

“Working on this album with the team in Chicago, as well as in New York, has been the truest labor and demonstration of togetherness – something I hope motivates and encourages,” Simon adds.

 

To purchase and listen to the album, click here.

 

Carlos Simon introduces his debut album, "Requiem For The Enslaved," below

 

Carlos Simon is a multi-genre composer and performer who is an advocate for diversity in music. He won the Sphinx Medal of Excellence in 2021 and is the Composer-in-Residence at the Kennedy Center. His recent commissions have been granted by the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Kennedy Center, Minnesota Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra, PBS, and the Washington National Opera — as well as his work being set to ballets by Washington National Ballet and American Ballet Theater.

Together is the follow-up to Simon’s critically-acclaimed debut album Requiem For The Enslaved. When Carlos joined Georgetown’s Department of Performing Arts as an assistant professor in 2020, he learned about the history of the GU272 — one of the largest sales of human beings in U.S. history in 1838. Determined to honor the lives of the enslaved (and their 8,000+ Descendants) through music, Carlos composed Requiem For The Enslaved. The work debuted at the Library of Congress on Nov. 5, 2021, and received the “Best Contemporary Classical Composition” nomination at the 2023 GRAMMY Awards.