Benjamin Jonah Wolfe is an American jazz bassist who has performed in groups with Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., and Diana Krall. He is currently on the teaching faculty at The Juilliard School Jazz Division.[1]
Ben Wolfe | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Benjamin Jonah Wolfe |
| Born | August 3, 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Origin | New York City |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Double bass |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Labels | Mons, Amosaya, Planet Arts, Maxjazz, Posi-tone |
| Website | www |
Career
editWolfe was born in Baltimore and raised in Portland, Oregon. He was a member of his high school band, playing tuba and trombone, and a member of pop music groups in which he played bass guitar. In college he started playing double bass, with some lessons from Ray Brown. In the mid-1980s he went to New York City, where he played with Junior Cook, Dakota Staton, and Duke Jordan. He formed a duo with Harry Connick Jr. in 1988 and became a member of Connick's big band. In the early 1990s he toured and recorded with Wynton Marsalis's septet and then became part of Marsalis's Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra in 1995. He has also played with Wynton's brother, Branford Marsalis, in addition to Frank Kimbrough, Marcus Roberts, and Mary Stallings. In 1997 he went on tour with singer Diana Krall.[2] He has been teaching jazz at The Juilliard School since 2002.[1]
Discography
edit| Year | Title | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 13 Sketches | Mons | |
| 2001 | Murray's Cadillac | Amosaya | |
| 1997 | Bagdad Theater | Mons | |
| 2004 | My Kinda Beautiful | Planet Arts | |
| 2008 | No Strangers Here | Maxjazz | |
| 2010 | Live at Smalls | SmallsLIVE | |
| 2013 | From Here I See | Maxjazz | |
| 2015 | The Whisperer | Posi-Tone | |
| 2019 | Fatherhood | Resident Arts Records | |
| 2023 | Unjust[3] | Resident Arts Records |
References
edit- ^ a b "Wolfe, Ben at The Juilliard School". The Juilliard School. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^ Kennedy, Gary (2002). Kernfeld, Barry (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. p. 976. ISBN 1-56159-284-6.
- ^ "'Unjust' by Ben Wolfe Review: Jazz, Swinging and Sophisticated".
External links
edit
- Ben Wolfe at AllMusic
- Concert review by The New York Times (2008)
- Concert review by All About Jazz (2008)