- Nicolas Simion who died all too young at the age of 67 on 29 August was a saxophonist who epitomised all that is best in jazz.
Originally from Romania, near Sibiu, he had moved to Vienna in 1988 before later moving to Cologne.
He never lost his awareness of Romanian and Eastern European music, as shown in the recording Romania Ethno-Jazz with trumpeter Tomasz Stanko. Tom Skinner is on his album Balkan Jazz
Meanwhile he also had a very close duo relationship with Mal Waldron.
He also had his own label which put him in a position as a trailblazer in the recorded jazz sector.
He just played once at the Vortex, in a band with Hannes Riepler in 2015. Once heard, never forgotten.
Oliver Weindling