Biography
Nat Simpkins took up piano at the age of eight before switching to tenor saxophone at thirteen, when his physician recommended the horn as a way to ease his asthma. He later worked on the instrument with Gerry Bergonzi.
Two encounters steered him toward jazz. As a teenager he slipped into New York clubs such as Birdland and the Five Spot to catch the Jazz Messengers, Gerry Mulligan, Thelonious Monk, and other leading figures of the day. The so-called school of Texas Tenors also proved decisive, letting him sit in with Arnett Cobb, Buddy Tate, and Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, each of whom helped shape his robust tenor approach.
Since beginning his professional career in the early 1980s, Simpkins has performed with Ray Bryant, Branford Marsalis, the Countsmen—the band of Count Basie alumni—and additional major jazz artists. He has appeared at festivals and at prominent rooms including the Village Vanguard. Along the way he produced or co-produced thirteen albums for the since-defunct Muse label and for his own Bluejay Records. He also maintains an extensive teaching practice that covers most single-reed instruments as well as trumpet, trombone, and piano.
Simpkins’ saxophone sound is instantly identifiable. A hard-driving, hard-bop “tough” tenor, he expends everything on stage or in the studio yet turns lyrical and intimate on slow romantic ballads. Like Gene Ammons and others from the same lineage, he prefers small groups built around an organ. Organist David Braham became his favored collaborator on the 1997 release Spare Ribs; Simpkins returned the favor with an appearance on Braham’s Blue Gardenia. When not performing or teaching, he writes and arranges, handles the duties of a label executive, gigs regularly, and studies the examples set by his Texas Tenor mentors.
Two encounters steered him toward jazz. As a teenager he slipped into New York clubs such as Birdland and the Five Spot to catch the Jazz Messengers, Gerry Mulligan, Thelonious Monk, and other leading figures of the day. The so-called school of Texas Tenors also proved decisive, letting him sit in with Arnett Cobb, Buddy Tate, and Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, each of whom helped shape his robust tenor approach.
Since beginning his professional career in the early 1980s, Simpkins has performed with Ray Bryant, Branford Marsalis, the Countsmen—the band of Count Basie alumni—and additional major jazz artists. He has appeared at festivals and at prominent rooms including the Village Vanguard. Along the way he produced or co-produced thirteen albums for the since-defunct Muse label and for his own Bluejay Records. He also maintains an extensive teaching practice that covers most single-reed instruments as well as trumpet, trombone, and piano.
Simpkins’ saxophone sound is instantly identifiable. A hard-driving, hard-bop “tough” tenor, he expends everything on stage or in the studio yet turns lyrical and intimate on slow romantic ballads. Like Gene Ammons and others from the same lineage, he prefers small groups built around an organ. Organist David Braham became his favored collaborator on the 1997 release Spare Ribs; Simpkins returned the favor with an appearance on Braham’s Blue Gardenia. When not performing or teaching, he writes and arranges, handles the duties of a label executive, gigs regularly, and studies the examples set by his Texas Tenor mentors.
Albums