Bio
Ben was born in a little log cabin in northern Honnely, and before he turned 2 he was out chopping wood and milking the chickens. But for the purposes of this writing, it's generally understood that he started taking piano lessons at the age of 5. During the first few years of classical training, Ben was gruelingly forced to practice for literally 20 minutes a day under the unrelenting eyes of his mother. By the time he turned 10, Ben had been chosen to perform in a number of honors recitals and decided that maybe playing piano wasn't so bad after all.
While performing in a number of bands in high school and college, a friend introduced Ben to a type of music called “jazz” through the simple act of loaning him an Oscar Peterson CD. The amazing musicianship and incredible rhythm of the music instantly hooked the budding pianist. Ben went out and bought a fake book, got a few friends together and started playing jazz. His first trio played together for almost three years, and worked their way up from local coffee houses to play featured shows at Jazz de Opus and the Portland Art Museum. His first album, the self-produced From Scratch, received great reviews from the Willamette Week and other local papers.
After graduating with a degree in Chemisty from George Fox University, Ben moved into Portland proper to continue his career in music. Despite a short break to try getting a “real job”, Ben's career continues to flourish, with performances at Jimmy Mak's, Tony Starlight's, The Cave, and Maryhill Winery and Ampitheater, among many others. Ben currently performs all over the Northwest, and as such decided to move back to his home town of Prosser, Washington. Some of the bands and people that Ben has played with include Arick Gouwerok, James M. Gregg, Justin Durrie, Tim DuRoche, Lee Elderton, Bill Athens, Murray Gusseck, Sam Foulger, Wayne Miller, Michael York, Tim Gilson, Tim Willcox, The Swing Sisters, The Bureau of Standards Big Band, Deanna and the Downbeats, and the We 3 Trio. Ben also loves playing other genres of music, and has played with or contributed to the recordings of such groups as Leigh Marble, Listen Like Thieves, the QLO, and Brandon Chandler.
Personnel
Ben plays with a wide variety of musicians depending on the venue and their availability, since so many of these great players are in such high demand. A few Ben's regular performers are:
- Arick Gourwerok
- Lee Elderton
- James M. Gregg
- Justin Durrie
- Deanna Maio
- Eric Abate