Ben Wolfe
{{Short description|American jazz bassist}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Ben Wolfe
| birth_name = Benjamin Jonah Wolfe
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1962|8|3}}
| birth_place = Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
| origin = New York City
| genre = Jazz
| occupation = Musician
| instrument = Double bass
| years_active = 1978–present
| label = Mons, Amosaya, Planet Arts, Maxjazz, Posi-tone
| associated_acts = Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr.
| website = {{URL|www.benwolfe.com}}
}}
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.{{cite web |title=Wolfe, Ben at The Juilliard School |url=https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/wolfe-ben |publisher=The Juilliard School |accessdate=2 June 2019}}
Career
Wolfe 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.{{cite book|last1=Kennedy|first1=Gary|editor1-last=Kernfeld|editor1-first=Barry|title=The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz|date=2002|publisher=Grove's Dictionaries Inc.|location=New York|isbn=1-56159-284-6|page=976|volume=3|edition=2nd}} He has been teaching jazz at The Juilliard School since 2002.
Discography
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Label ! class="unsortable" | 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{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/unjust-by-ben-wolfe-review-jazz-nicholas-payton-immanuel-wilkins-joel-ross-11675282159 |title='Unjust' by Ben Wolfe Review: Jazz, Swinging and Sophisticated}} | Resident Arts Records |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Biography|Jazz}}
- {{Allmusic|id=p139359|label=Ben Wolfe}}
- [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/05/arts/music/05wolf.html Concert review] by The New York Times (2008)
- [http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=29700 Concert review ] by All About Jazz (2008)
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Ben}}
Category:American jazz double-bassists
Category:American male double-bassists
Category:Educators from Oregon
Category:Juilliard School faculty
Category:Musicians from Baltimore
Category:Jazz musicians from New York City
Category:Musicians from Portland, Oregon
Category:Jazz musicians from Maryland
Category:Educators from New York City
Category:21st-century American double-bassists