As a lead-up to the summer festivals, this spring the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) presented a special retrospective of the work of Paul Simon, in which one of the greatest singer-songwriters in the history of pop music also cooperated. During this unique concert trilogy, that consisted of Songs from the Capeman, Under African Skies and American Tunes, Simon - with a highly select group of famous guests - let audiences hear that the oeuvre he has written over the last 40 years has rightly been honored with no fewer than twelve Grammy's. Simon made his debut in 1964 as the song-writing half of the illustrious duo Simon & Garfunkel with Wednesday Morning, 3 AM. That album contained the song The Sound of Silence, one of the dozens of brilliant songs Simon would write in his career. Bridge over Troubled Water (1970) was the duo's swan song. In 1982 they came together one last time for the now legendary live album The Concert in Central Park. Simon continued the triumph on his own, with brilliant albums like Still Crazy After All These Years (1975) and Graceland (1986). On the latter album he demonstrated his love for African and Brazilian rhythms. In 2006 he surprised friends and enemies alike with Surprise, an album for which Brian Eno created the sonic landscape.
