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Ben Wolfe
Bassist-composer, Ben Wolfe, has recently released his new CD, “No Strangers Here” on MAXJAZZ. As Wynton Marsalis said, “Ben Wolfe swings with authority.” And as can be heard from Ben’s original compositions on this, his fifth and newest CD, Ben also innovates and “scores” with authority. Downbeat Magazine says, “ He hews to the esthetic of group interplay and the rhythm’s of bebop, and displays a well-honed sense of sonic narrative.”
In January 2008, The New York Sun reviewed Ben’s new composition, “From Here I See,” created for the Harlem in the Himalayas series at the Rubin Museum, as a piece “Bernstein would doubtlessly have approved of.” Like many of Ben’s compositions, this 25-minute Suite fell into line with the jazz concept of a double quartet " a format that combines the standard jazz quartet with the standard string quartet.
Ben Wolfe’s work is a true ensemble " expressed in the group sound, rather than dominated by extended solo compositions. Chamber Music America awarded Ben the 2004 New Works: Creation and Presentation Program Grant, funded through the generosity of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. As a result of this award, Ben was able to compose his extended composition Contradiction: Music for Sextet.
Ben also recently made his mark as a film composer, working with Matthew Modine on the film short, I Think I Thought. At the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, The New York Sun reviewed Ben’s work on this film as, “a standout music score.”
Born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in Portland, Oregon, Ben has gained a large following from his performances with Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., and Diana Krall.
Early on in Ben’s career, he formed a Duo with Harry Connick Jr. and went on to record over a dozen albums and soundtracks. During his five years with Connick, he performed on numerous world tours as musical director. He then joined the Wynton Marsalis Septet and remained until it disbanded. Ben also became an integral part of Diana Krall's touring band and played on many of her recordings, including the Grammy Award winning CD, "When I Look In Your Eyes."
As a member of The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO), Ben has performed with Joe Henderson, Doc Cheatham, Jon Hendricks, Harry "Sweets" Edison, and Billy Higgins. Other artists he has also recorded with include Branford Marsalis, James Moody, Eric Reed, Carl Allen, and Benny Green.
In addition to his latest CD, Ben’s previous recordings include “13 Sketches” (1996) and “Bagdad Theater” (1997), both released on Mons Records; the critically acclaimed “Murray's Cadillac” (2000) on Amosaya Music; and “My Kinda Beautiful” (2004) on Planet Arts Records.
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Ben Wolfe: Unjust
by Maurizio Zerbo
Sul piano compositivo e dell'organizzazione sonora, Unjust è uno dei più luminosi gioielli jazzistici degli ultimi anni. Contrabbassista di ragguardevole talento, Ben Wolfe ribadisce nel suo decimo progetto discografico la predilezione per architetture ariose ma arzigogolate, dimostrando come la scrittura jazzistica possa captare lo spirito dei tempi nel rispetto dei classici modelli di riferimento. A dimostrare come il contrabbassista statunitense non si accontenti di riprodurre le idee altrui, l'impasto sonoro del suo ottetto trascende le atmosfere post-boppistiche e ...
read moreBen Wolfe: Unjust
by Dave Linn
The history of modern jazz contains only a handful of bass players who have both led their own groups and been visionary in their compositions and approach. Charles Mingus, Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Jaco Pastorius and Christian McBride are those who come to mind. With the release of his 10th album, Unjust, Ben Wolfe shows he belongs in that group. Wolfe began his musical career as a classical bassist and studied at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in ...
read moreBurt Bacharach, Joe Lovano & Ben Wolfe
by Joe Dimino
We begin the 792nd Episode of Neon Jazz with bassist Ben Wolfe's brilliant album Unjust. From there, we hear from Ben's long-time collaborator, Harry Connick, Jr. with their take on “Stompin' at the Savoy" from the When Harry Met Sally soundtrack. We also hear new music from Tarmu Jazz Quartet, Matt Greenwood, Matt Lockett and Daniel Latorre. Finally, we pay tribute to the legendary, Kansas City-born Burt Bacharach on a prolific run in music. Enjoy the jazz, my friends.
read moreDonald Edwards Quintet: The Color Of US Suite
by Chris May
This is an album one really wants to love but ends up applauding more for its intention than its realisation. Drummer Donald Edwards has composed a suite which addresses the race hate which besmirches America and which, observed from the other side of the pond, seems to have become more bitter and entrenched with the passing years. On the opening “Little Hopes," a young girl identified as Sophia Edwards, possibly Edwards' daughter, relates with affecting simplicity her ...
read moreJD Walter: Dressed in a Song
by Victor L. Schermer
JD Walter is a consummate vocalist who has devoted himself over many years to evolving a unique style that is nevertheless ensconced in the jazz tradition. The public relations sheet for this new CD states that “this is his first release since recovering from a life-threatening heart condition and surgeries on his heart and vocal cords." It states that this is a “comeback" record. That is a misnomer. In this recording, he takes the music to new levels of structure, ...
read moreBen Wolfe: The Freedom to Create
by Stephen A. Smith
This article was first published at All About Jazz in September 2001. Ben Wolfe is a consummate musician. He has served as the bassist-of-choice for Wynton Marsalis, Diana Krall, and Harry Connick, Jr. Also a prolific composer, Ben has just released his third album of original compositions, Murray's Cadillac, for Amosaya Records. I met Wolfe just a few hours before he was scheduled to play Carnegie Hall with Diana Krall. He was scouring the shelves of ...
read moreBen Wolfe: The Whisperer
by David A. Orthmann
While swimming in the rather large body of sounds that comprise the jazz mainstream, Ben Wolfe's The Whisperer evinces no obvious stylistic points of reference or influence, possesses unusual depth, and adds up to something larger and more significant than a composite of impressive individual performances. Wolfe's compositions--eleven out of the disc's twelve tracks--comprise the record's core. He crafts melodies that are familiar in a good way, and encases them in tightly knit, logical, non-standard forms. There's ...
read moreMAXJAZZ Deal with Naxos Begins with Three New Releases
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
After an initial announcement was made back in July of this year, the latest three releases from the St. Louis-based independent label MAXJAZZ are the first to be distributed under a new agreement with Naxos of America. Headquartered near Nashville in Franklin, Tennessee, Naxos is the leading independent distributor of classical music in the U.S. and Canada, and in recent years also has begun to add selected jazz labels to its roster. The first three MAXJAZZ albums that Naxos is ...
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MAXJAZZ Releasing Ben Wolfe's New CD from Here I See on Tuesday, April 2
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
The St. Louis-based independent label MAXJAZZ has scheduled the release of bassist/composer Ben Wolfe's new CD From Here I See for Tuesday, April 2. The album is Wolfe's second for MAXJAZZ, which previously released his CD No Strangers Here back in 2008. The NYC-based Wolfe is known for his work with Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, and also teaches at Juilliard. His new recording features him with pianist Orrin Evans, drummer Donald Edwards, ...
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Ben Wolfe Quintet -Tuesday 4/19/11 at Dizzy's Club in NYC
Source:
Two for the Show Media
Tuesday, Apr 19, 2011 7:30pm & 9:30pm Cover: $30 Students: $15 select sets with valid student ID It's only appropriate that one of the most swinging bass players in jazz fills his quintet with musicians known for their high level of musicianship. The others, particularly Strickland and Perdomo have built their careers in the format Wolfe showcases at this very special show which features some of his most striking compositions. Ben Wolfe, bass Eddie Henderson, trumpet ...
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Ben Wolfe Quartet Live at Cachaca Jazz Club
Source:
Two for the Show Media
Bassist/Composer Ben Wolfe will be performing with his Quartet at Cachaca Jazz Club in NYC on September 18th, 2008. Set Times: 7:00 PM & 8:30 PM The Ben Wolfe Quartet Ben Wolfe - Bass Marcus Strickland - Saxophones Luis Perdomo - Piano Marion Felder - Drums “A stalwart bassist.” --New York Times “He has a beautiful, fat, dark tone. He can drive a band, he can take a lyrical position in an ...
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Carefully Planned Jazz, Fit for a '50s Soundtrack
Source:
Michael Ricci
The bassist Ben Wolfe has some very tight ideas about composition, an interest in combining a small jazz band with strings and an admiration for jazz of the late 1950s. Where that leads him, inevitably, is to music that sounds as if it's made for a film: noirs, thrillers, movies shot at night with rain-slicked streets reflecting the lights, that kind of thing. On Tuesday at the Jazz Standard he brought eight players onstage to run through music from his ...
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Ben Wolfe Quartet at Firehouse 12 This Friday 6/6
Source:
Improvised Communications
On Friday, June 6th, New Haven's Firehouse 12 will close its 2008 Spring Jazz Series with a two-set performance by New York bassist/composer Ben Wolfe and his working quartet. The group, which features saxophonist Marcus Strickland (Dave Douglas, Jimmy Greene, Roy Haynes), pianist Luis Perdomo (Ravi Coltrane, Hans Glawischnig, Miguel Zenn) and drummer Greg Hutchinson (Victor Goines, Jane Monheit, Dianne Reeves), will be performing original music from Wolfe's May 2008 release, No Strangers Here (MAXJAZZ).
The New York Times' Nate ...
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Ben Wolfe Celebrates New Release "No Strangers Here" at NY's Jazz Standard on June 3rd, 2008
Source:
Two for the Show Media
Bassist/Composer & Bandleader Ben Wolfe will be performing with his Octet at The Jazz Standard in New York on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 in celebration of his latest MAXJAZZ release No Strangers Here. Sets are 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM. Ben Wolfe Octet: Ben Wolfe - bass/composer Marcus Strickland - saxophone Luis Perdomo - piano Greg Hutchinson- drums Jesse Mills - violin Cyrus Beroukhim - violin ...
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Ben Wolfe Quartet @ Smalls in NYC on 3/21-22/08
Source:
Two for the Show Media
Ben Wolfe Quartet Friday, March 21 - Saturday, March 22 10:00 PM and 11:30 PM Ben Wolfe - bass Jimmy Greene - saxophone Luis Perdomo - piano Jerome Jennings - drums Smalls 183 West 10th St @ 7th avenue NYC 212-252-5091 smallsjazzclub.com $20 Ben Wolfe Biography: Bassist-composer-educator Ben Wolfe was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but grew up in Portland, Oregon. ...
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Jazz Museum Events, January 22-25, 2008
Source:
Jim Eigo, Jazz Promo Services
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem 104 East 126th Street New York, NY 10035 212 348-8300 Jazz Museum Events, January 22-25, 2008 Jazz on Film January 22, 2008 Ben Wolfe January 25, 2008 On Tuesday, January 22nd the Jazz for Curious Listeners series continues with a jazz on film presentation, so come share in archival jazz moments. Bassist Ben Wolfe will inaugurate a composition related to the Himalayas, on Friday, January 25th ...
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Ben Wolfe Octet @ The Rubin Museum-Harlem in the Himalayas Jazz Series -1/25/08
Source:
Two for the Show Media
Bassist, composer, and bandleader Ben Wolfe will be performing with his Octet as part of the Harlem in the Himalayas series at the Rubin Museum in New York City on January 25th, 2008 Showtime: 7:00 PM The Ben Wolfe Octet: Ben Wolfe - bass/composer Marcus Strickland - saxophone Luis Perdomo - piano Marion Felder - drums Jesse Mills - violin Cyrus Beroukhim - violin Max Mandel ...
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Ben Wolfe
Location: Baltimore
Instrument: Bass
Born: August 3, 1962
Publicist: Two for the Show Media
