James Simmons, 63, jazz pianist

James Simmons, 63, a Philadelphia jazz pianist known as a quintessential accompanist, died Friday, Nov. 5, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania of cardiac arrest after surgery.

Known as Sid, Mr. Simmons was a pianist at three of the city's major jazz clubs. He was in the house band at the former Ortlieb's Jazzhaus in Northern Liberties and a frequent sideman at Chris' Jazz Cafe on Sansom Street just west of Broad Street and at the former Zanzibar Blue in the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue.

In an online appreciation in the monthly Jazz Times, Lee Mergner wrote that Mr. Simmons "recorded sporadically as a leader, but was always a first-call musician for significant jazz shows in Philadelphia."

And, he wrote, Mr. Simmons "performed frequently with Philly sax legend Bootsie Barnes, for whom he was a de facto music director."

Violinist John Blake told Jazz Times that Mr. Simmons "was always a team player as a musician and person. You always got good support from him."

Bassist Gerald Veasley told Mergner that "musically, he had his own vocabulary."

"His lines as a pianist seemed more hornlike and very clear and melodic. I've heard him described as the quintessential sideman, but I see him as a pianist who made everyone else sound good."

And, Veasley said, he was a good man to be with on the road.

There was the time that Mr. Simmons traveled in a small group that included Blake and Veasley. They flew to Houston, rented a recreational vehicle, and drove to shows in Southern California; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle before driving back to Houston.

"We got to be really close on that tour," Veasley told the magazine. "Sid was the one who, when everybody else was crazy, was the calming influence. He wouldn't get ruffled, and he took everything in stride."

Born in Philadelphia, Mr. Simmons graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in 1964 and studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, said his daughter, Asia Simmons-Chulan.

Suzanne Cloud, executive director of the Jazz Bridge Project, a support group in Glenside, wrote in an e-mail that Mr. Simmons "was considered a real giant in the local jazz community. He was playing up until a week and a half ago."

The Jazz Times piece reported that early in his career Mr. Simmons played with the Visitors and then with Locksmith, a band that backed saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. "both live and on record, including on Live at the Bijou and Reed Seed," both from 1978.

"The group also recorded its own albums, but never really gained traction," and the players dispersed, according to the article.

Besides his daughter, Mr. Simmons is survived by sons Ariel and Kairi; his mother, Vevlynn; a sister; and two grandchildren. His wife, Sydney, died in 1998.

A viewing was set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 16, at Pinn Memorial Baptist Church, 54th Street at Wynnefield Avenue, West Philadelphia, where a funeral service will follow at 11.