Friends I play with: Nate Wood, Kaveh Rastegar, Larry Koonse, Darek Oles, Taylor Eigsti, Adam Benjamin, Shane Endsley, Ambrose Akinmusire, Garrett Smith, Harish Raghavan, Gerald Clayton, Tigran Hamasyan, Kevin Kanner, Matt Slocum, Dan Lutz, Josh Nelson, Gene Coy, Alan Ferber, Todd Sickafoose, Otmaro Ruiz, Mark Ferber, Daedelus, Gilbert Castellanos, Joe Sanders, Jimmy Johnson, Jimmy Branley, Carlos Del Puerto, Aaron McLendon...
Influences
Billy Higgins, Ravel, Black Star, Kneebody, Claudia Quintet, Jerseyband, Eric Biondo, Debussy, So Percussion, Dispenza, Mark Turner, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Peter Gabriel, Tarif de Haidouks, Jason Falkner, Ron Miles, Futurehead, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Led Zeppelin, Ralph Alessi, Mike Cain, Chris Potter, The Police, Art Lande, Elliot Smith, Wayne Shorter, Kate Bush, Squarepusher, Daedelus, Milton Nascimento, Bartok, Hindemith, Marisa Kuney, Keith Jarrett, Brad Mehldau, Joe Lovano, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, Weather Report, Paul Motion, Bill Frisell, The Roots, The Youngs, Jimi Hendrix, Stravinsky, Puccini, Shane Endsley, Nate Wood, Kaveh Rastegar, Adam Benjamin, Todd Sickafoose, Nels Cline, Myra Melford, Beach Boys, Lee Konitz, Gershwin, Erroll Garner, Art Tatum, Herbie Hancock, The Beatles, The Zombies, Colin Hay, Bobby McFerrin, Alicia De LA Rocha, Steely Dan, Tchaikovsky, Eric B and Rakem, Mos Def, Cannonball Adderley...
Sounds Like
At The Falcon. Adam Benjamin, Ben Street, Nate Wood, Nir Felder.
At The Falcon. Adam Benjamin, Ben Street, Nate Wood, Nir Felder.
At The Falcon. Adam Benjamin, Ben Street, Nate Wood, Nir Felder.
At the Jazz Gallery. Adam Benjamin, Ben Street, Nate Wood, Nir Felder.
At the Jazz Gallery. Adam Benjamin, Ben Street, Nate Wood, Nir Felder.
Tigran Hamasyan Group In Nimes, France. Ari Hoenig, Francios Moutin.
Born in Vancouver and raised in Los Angeles, Ben was educated at the Eastman School of Music in New York. Since graduating he has enjoyed a varied carreer as a performer, composer and producer. Recent highlights include multiple domestic and international tours with such artists as Cuban drumming legend Ignacio Berroa, Thelonius Monk Piano Competition Winner Tigran Hamasyan, Electronica artist Daedelus and Hip Hop artist Snoop Dogg. Ben is a founding member of the genre-bending group Kneebody.
In addition to playing saxophone, Ben also doubles on the bassoon and piano. As a composer he has scored multiple films, received an ASCAP Jazz Composer Award , was a winner in the 2007 International Songwriting Competition and recently received the Chamber Music America “New Works Grant.” In the summer of 2007, Ben was honored to work with conductor Kent Nagano in producing a series of concerts for the Festpeil Plus in Munich, Germany. One of the performances (a collaboration between Theo Bleckmann and Kneebody featuring the songs of Charles Ives) was recently signed to Winter & Winter. Ben currently produces a new performing arts series at The Edye in Santa Monica, California.
Ben's first solo album "Simple Song" will be released on Sunnyside Records in March 2009. Ben is currently an Adjunct Professor of Jazz Studies at USC.
Artists and/or Groups Ben currently plays with: Kneebody - Ignacio Berroa - Dakah - Todd Sickafoose - Otmaro Ruiz - Tigran Hamasyan - Daedelus - Taylor Eigsti
SOLO ALBUM "SIMPLE SONG" AVAILABLE ON ITUNES AND AMAZON
Hello Ben Thanks for the request and checking out my site. I have new music posted from my newly released CD. Maybe we can play music sometime. Thanks Joseph
Hey Ben, Congratulations on your record. I've heard it many times, and each time it is new. Great choices and everybody plays great. As usual, the songs are the star of the show, the way you meant it to be. Good luck at the shows. richard
Hi Ben, thank you for contacting me here on myspace=yourspace. I see we have got a few things in common, not only music but also a dog! Have a relaxing Sunday evening and hope to sometime meet you personally at a gig.
Hey it's Nick from Buchanan. I just have to say again that i was really moved by the group's performance last Friday. Thank you for coming to play at our school. :)
