- Art Simmons was born on February 5, 1926 in Glenn White, West Virginia, USA. He was an actor, known for Two Men in Manhattan (1959), Three Rooms in Manhattan (1965) and Six-Five Special (1957). He died on April 23, 2018 in Beckley, West Virginia, USA.
- As resident pianist at the Mars Club, he worked with Michel Gaudry, Pierre Cullaz, and Elek Bacsik, and accompanied touring singers such as Carmen McRae and Billie Holiday (1958). In the early 1960s he played in a duo with Art Taylor.
- Simmons led his own group at the Ringside Club in 1951.
- He played in a band while serving in the U.S. military in 1946, then remained in Germany after the war, studying music, and moved to Paris in 1949. There he studied at the Paris Conservatory and the Ecole Normale de Musique, playing with Charlie Parker and Kenny Clarke at the Paris Jazz Festival; he also played with Aaron Bridgers, Don Byas, Robert Mavounzy, and Nelson Williams.
- In the early 1950s he played with Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones, and toured London with singers such as Bertice Reading.
- Simmons did arranging work for Barclay Records.
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