Born in 1983 in Martigues, in the south of France, Simon Tailleu is one of the most talented young double bassists on the French jazz scene.
He began playing double bass at the IMFP (Institut Musical de Formation Professionelle) in Salon de Provence with Michel Zénino, André Villégier and Mario Stantchev. After three years at the school, he obtained his diploma and unanimous gold medal from the Marseille Conservatory.
In September 2006, Simon entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in the Jazz and Improvised Music class taught by double bassist Riccardo Del Fra. He obtained his Master's degree in June 2010.
Simon currently plays with Youn Sun Nah, Pierre de Bethmann, Paul Lay, Federico Casagrande, Didier Lockwood, but has also played with many French and foreign musicians: Biréli Lagrène, Michel Portal, Stéphane Belmondo, Mike Stern, Yaron Herman, Walter Smith III, Ambrose Akinmusire, Marcus Gilmore, Gerald Cleaver, Tommy Crane...
Simon won the First Group Prize at the Concours International de Jazz de la Défense in 2005 with Newtopia, and the Second Soloist Prize in 2007. He also won the group prize at the Montauban International Jazz Competition in 2011, with the Enhco brothers.
Thanks to his technical skills, musical sensitivity, sense of harmony and improvisation, Simon Tailleu is acclaimed by a large number of musicians in his field.
