Executive Director, Jesse Simon

Jazz drummer Jesse Simon started playing the drums at age 9. As soon as he was licensed to drive he was gigging at jazz clubs. Jesse is an alumnus of the Manhattan School of Music. While in New York he studied extensively with Justin DicCioccio and the late Joe Morello as well as having the opportunity to perform with many household names in the jazz world. After graduating from MSM in 1999, Jesse worked as a professional jazz musician in Denver, Houston and Minneapolis. In 2003, Jesse's promising career came to a halt when he had a life-threatening nervous breakdown resulting in several hospitalizations. His doctors recommended that he quit music to reduce stress and maintain good mental health. After returning to professional jazz performance in 2015, Jesse decided to use his life experiences and his love of Jazz to lead rather than freelance by forming the Jazz performance non-profit, “The Minnesota Hard Bop Collective”, with the mission of increasing access to free-of-charge high-quality jazz performance concerts through educational and accessibility outreach. Jesse says, "Because I was away from music for so long, my musical style is rooted in joy. My performance goal is to make the musicians and audience feel good, happy, and confident. If people aren’t smiling at the end of a gig, then I didn’t do my job." Jesse lives in St. Paul with his wife and two sons.