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Biography
Simon Paterson studied composition under Nick Sackman at University of Nottingham, before forging a career in music production, composition, education and performance.
Simon is particularly proud of having created the Music and Music Technology BA programme at University of Nottingham. He devised a suite of modules and lead the development of facilities which include the Recording Studio, Digital Composition Studio, Digital Editing Suite.
Simon is both an Advanced Apple Certified Pro Trainer, and an Avid Certified Instructor for Pro Tools, and is a regular contributor to Sound on Sound Magazine.
He is currently writing a book for Routledge entitled Digital Music Composition and Production: Unleash your Creative Voice and Bring your Music to Life, due to go to press in 2026/7
Simon is a regular member of the House Band of Peggy's Skylight, an award wining jazz venue in Nottingham.
Whilst gigging regularly with a panoply of performers (e.g. Sir Dennis Rollins MBE, Tony Kofi, Nigel Price, Art Themen, Digby Fairweather, Alan Barnes, Chris Ingham, Ben Martin, Yazmin Lacey, Hugh Pascall, Mellow Baku, Marcus Joseph, Joel Purnell, Stewart McDonald, Nathan Bray, Elliot Richards, Greg Abate and many more, he also finds time to focus on writing music for UK contemporary jazz groups Sharp Little Bones and Electric Gumbo, and leads his own straight-ahead ensemble, The Simon Paterson Quartet.
He's played main stages at Glastonbury, Aldeburgh, Rock City, London Jazz Festival, and toured around Europe as a bassist.
He was awarded a grant by Arts Council England (Oct 2021) to compose, arrange, develop, perform and produce a portrait CD.
He has had official UK Top 40 chart success with two acts as performer/producer (2002, 2008), with TV appearances (including Top of the Pops, 2002 and mainstream radio playlists (BBC Radio 1)).
He's had the honour of achieving a UK No.1 LP/CD as a recording engineer with both The Charlatans and The Chemical Brothers (1995), a UK Top 40 single with Intastella (1996), and a double-platinum album and No.1 single in New Zealand with Kora (2007)
A member of the Music Producers Guild (MPG) since 2006, and a member of Performing Rights Society (PRS)and MPCS since 1998
Simon has produced many recordings with critical success and radio play across BBC Radio 3, BBC 6 Music, Jazz FM.
He is director of Sirkus Ltd, a well-established recording studio in Nottingham.
Sharp Little Bones (Ubuntu Music)
"Simon Paterson is an exceedingly talented composer and bassist, whose style has evolved and matured into something original, yet connects with fans of all kinds of music, as well as the jazz faithful. His first release on our label has universal critical praise as well as national radio play"-Martin Hummel, Director, Ubuntu Management Group
"Paterson's varied compositions elicit excellent, imaginative and absorbing work" (Jazz Journal)
"Formidable work…tunes are strong on structure…and you get a certain narrative arc within each piece" Marlbank
"Finding the right musical direction, the right musicians, sounding original, authentic and - an often overlooked ingredient - having a desire to communicate: Sharp Little Bones ticks all those boxes" Stuart Nicholson
"engaging… hugely varied, well-presented double album characterised by élan and enthusiasm - this would be good to hear live" - Rating: ★★★★ Peter Vacher, Jazzwise
"Composer Paterson succeeds in his mission to write jazz tunes that are both interesting and accessible, and he is well served by an excellent, highly exciting live band" Rating: ★★★★ The Jazz Man
"Passionate… superb… heartfelt" The Guardian
"Excellent double album…packed with hooky tunes, tight grooves, and deft group interplay" Record Collector
Excellent, imaginative and absorbing work" Barry Witherden, Jazz Journal
"The music and sound immediately felt unique, and the band's performance got the crowd whooping. The audience demanded more… this night was a pleasure to behold" UK Jazz News
"Despite being a "new" band, Sharp Little Bones's music is mature. The songs bristle with energy and a certain amount of daring born of surety and delight in their music….organic and polished. This is a band to watch to see what happens next" Ben Miller, Jazz Views
"You'll be hearing plenty more from Sharp Little Bones here on Jazz FM I have no doubt" Jez Nelson, Jazz FM
Electric Gumbo (Full Beam Music)
Simon convened 15 musicians, including UoN students, to record nine compositions for a new LP. The impact of this is evident in international radio play (including multiple plays on BBC Radio 3, Jazz FM (Robbie Vincent, Helen Mayhew, Ruth Fisher), festival appearances (including a headline slot at Lincoln Jazz Festival 2025), and consistently excellent reviews in a wide range of leading publications online and in print. He was interviewed for the NeonJazz podcast (~10,000 subscribers across platforms) based in Kansas, USA, interviewed for a 'Take 5' feature for Jazz Views (International jazz magazine)
"This release solidifies Simon Paterson's reputation as a visionary" (Frank Bell, Fame Magazine)
"Composer Paterson succeeds in his mission to write jazz tunes that are both interesting and accessible" (The Jazz Man)
"Excellent… exquisite.… offers a rich mix of musical genres….a terrific showcase for the rich talents of the musicians in the East Midlands jazz scene" (Jazz Views)
"Paterson's soloing is exquisite" (Kind of Jazz)
"It's On! showcases a plethora of East Midlands jazz talents. Much to enjoy…tasty… what's not to like?" (Jazzwise)
Simon has just received a grant from mjazz (Midlands Jazz, a development initiative for jazz across the Midlands) towards funding for a tour.
As producer and sound engineer for British jazz legend Art Themen, his work has elicited such critical praise as: "Finally, I would like to congratulate whoever recorded the album at the University of Nottingham. The clarity of the recording captures Art's sound and places it squarely into one of the speakers. At times, the sound of the tenor, its fidelity, can be startling". Jack Kenny, Jazzviews and "sound engineer Simon Paterson expertly reproduced this atmosphere…" Leonard Weinreich, London Jazz News.
Selected legacy projects:
'Angels in the Architecture' (Fullbeam 2012); Composer, performer, producer, mix engineer). An original song cycle. play-listed by BBC Introducing and NUSIC. Comments from reviews include: "the brainchild of one Simon Paterson, who pens a superior blend of singer-songwriter material which often hints at jazz and world-music influences" (Sam Inglis, Sound on Sound). "Love the new album; brilliant stuff" (Helen Mayhew, Radio 2); "It sounds amazing, the production is really quite stunning!" (John Sampson, Colour8 Records); "Beautiful!" (Dean Jackson, BBC Radio Nottingham)
Cabaret Voltaire National Service Rewind (Warner Music, 2010); Production, co-writing credits and mastering. Reviews: "Beautiful" - George Lamb, BBC6 Music; "Rules are made to be broken. Dance away children, dance" (NME); "National Service Rewind is a sonic jugganaut" (RocketScience); "From start to finish this album is a pleasure to listen to. Well produced, well played and well versed" (Counterfeit Magazine); "Queasy, gritty synths, deliberately lurching sub-bass and slowly oscillating sirens. There is method in this madness" - The Wire
Kora Kora - (Warner Music, 2008: Mix Engineer on lead single). A double-platinum No.1 album in New Zealand
Reviews from various productions :
"Simon Paterson pens a superior blend of material which often hints at jazz and world-music influences" (Sam Inglis, Editor in Chief, Sound on Sound)
"Beautiful" - George Lamb, BBC6 Music;
"Rules are made to be broken. Dance away children, dance" (NME);
"a sonic jugganaut" (RocketScience);
"From start to finish this album is a pleasure to listen to. Well produced, well played and well versed" (Counterfeit Magazine);
"Queasy, gritty synths, deliberately lurching sub-bass and slowly oscillating sirens. There is method in this madness" - The Wire;
"a thrillingly enjoyable listen from beginning to end". (Paul Klotschkow, Leftlion);
"Impossible not to be impressed" (Sandman Magazine);
"Massive! Highly recommended!" (Lowcut Magazine);
"What a great release! Comes at you like a sledgehammer, captures their massive energy" (Toxic Pete);
"Wow! This smacks you in the face as soon as it erupts out of the speakers. Powerful…this rocks" (Amp Magazine);
"his artful touch ensures these drawn-out tracks are also brilliantly listenable" (Metro);
"This is a fine, fine record. Opening track has been hammered to death in the Quietus offices. (The Quietus);
"Brilliantly listenable" (Metro);
"Sounds good!" (Gilles Peterson, BBC Radio 1);
"Sublime" (Ben Davis - Ministry of Sound);
"All the tracks are well produced" (Ben Wall, Buzzin' Fly);
"The quality is there for everyone to hear" (Alistair Whitehead, BBC Radio 1).
Meanwhile, Simon has composed music for TV and film:
Composer of European advertising campaigns e.g. Aunt Bessies, Budweiser, Lemsip, Land Rover
Composer and producer for W1 (awarded Best Short Film at BFI London Film Festival, 1998, co-composer of The Phantom Trick or Treater, Cartoon Network, 2001; co-composer for Mr. Truth; short film, 2002, composer and co-producer for Colin Versus the World in "Mr. Lounge Lizard", Cartoon Network, 2002, composer and producer of soundtracks for MTV shorts (various, 2005-2007); composer and producer of ident soundtracks for Turner Classic Movies, 1999; co-composer for Method: Central TV cartoon, 1998
My page on British Music Collection web page: https://britishmusiccollection.org.uk/composer/simon-paterson
My artist page on Jazz Steps: https://www.jazzsteps.co.uk/view_artist.php?id=600
An (incomplete) selection of further CD releases documented here: http://www.discogs.com/artist/564239-Simon-Paterson
Expertise Summary
Composition, performance, music production, electronic and computer music, sound recording,
Teaching Summary
Aesthetics of electronic and computer music, digital composition, sound design & synthesis, technology-enhanced performance, studio recording and music production.