Jazz Articles about Ben Goldberg

Ben Goldberg Quintet: The Door, The Hat, The Chair, The Fact

by AAJ Italy Staff
September 28, 2006

Clarinettista personale, ma soprattutto compositore raffinato (di lui ricordiamo il bel Eight Phrases for Jefferson Rubin, del 1998 per la Victo), Ben Goldberg presenta questo omaggio a Steve Lacy, di cui fu allievo, pensato al momento della notizia della malattia del grande sopranista e registrato alcuni giorni dopo la sua morte. La formazione con la quale Goldberg affronta la prova è un quintetto di musicisti navigati, sebbene non notissimi, senza pianoforte e - su di una tradizionale ritmica basso-batteria - ...

Ben Goldberg Quintet: The Door, The Hat, The Chair, The Fact

by Elliott Simon
July 27, 2006

This is music that produces seemingly random associations as snippets of form and formlessness lead you to free, or perhaps not so freely, associate. Personal experiences dovetail with these compositions, which lead through nodes of memory and mood: from poet Robert Creeley to Alan Ginsburg to swing, world and free, through Bechet, Bird and Trane and then, of course, to the late soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy. Poet Rosmarie Waldrop speaks of how we can examine by boring down or zooming ...

Ben Goldberg Quintet: The Door, The Hat, The Chair, The Fact

by John Kelman
February 16, 2006

He's been active for fifteen years, but unless you know the New Klezmer Trio or have followed the Bay Area scene, chances are you haven't heard of clarinetist Ben Goldberg. Despite appearing on records by Charlie Hunter, Tin Hat Trio and John Zorn, in addition to half a dozen albums released under his own name, he's never managed to grab significant attention, despite the relatively light competition in the jazz clarinet arena. So hopefully The Door, The Hat, The Chair, ...

Ben Goldberg - John Schott - Trevor Dunn: Almost Never

by Glenn Astarita
September 1, 2000

Almost Never represents the latest effort from Bay area musicians, clarinetist Ben Goldberg, guitarist John Schott and bassist Trevor Dunn. And while they have recorded as a unit along with drummer Kenny Wollesen, under the moniker of Junk Genius, Almost Never signifies their freshman outing for the modern jazz-improvisation based Nuscope Recordings label.

The musicians seemingly defy gravity with their light touch and flotation style of interaction on the opener, “Pitchbend,” partly due to Goldberg’s soft, vibrato-less lines and Dunn’s ...

Ben Goldberg Trio: Here By Now

by Glenn Astarita
February 1, 1999

Ben Goldberg is one of the few determined jazz musicians who have revived and perhaps reinvented the potential use of the clarinet as a driving force in modern jazz. Ben Goldberg, Marty Ehrlich and Francois Houle represent a few notable clarinetist’s seeking new musical avenues while implementing their distinct styles and unique approaches via composition and improvisation. The Ben Goldberg Trio's Here By Now is a worthy edition to the ever-increasing catalog of modern jazz visionaries who utilize the clarinet ...