 Audiences have long enjoyed
the charm and wit, and mostly the music that Ben Sidran brings to a
performance. He has first-rate piano chops combined with his
'cool', urbane vocal styling provide good
music for grown-ups.
A true renaissance man, Ben Sidran is a pianist, scholar,
composer, producer, singer and author. Sidran grew up in
Racine, WI. In the early '60s, he played with Steve Miller and Boz
Scaggs in a band called the Ardells, and may be best known for
writing Steve Miller's hit song "Space Cowboy". However,
Sidran has a had a passion for jazz since childhood. Sidran recalls
leaning into his jazz records, listening to a Blue Mitchell solo -
"literally like an Eskimo huddled around a fire."
Ben is also well known as the host of National Public Radio's
landmark jazz series "Jazz Alive", which received a Peabody
Award, and as the host of VH-1 television's "New Visions"
series, which received the Ace Award for best music series.
As a
pianist, producer, singer and composer, he has recorded twenty five
solo albums, including the Grammy nominated "Concert for Garcia
Lorca". He composed the soundtrack for the acclaimed film "Hoop
Dreams", and scored the documentary "Vietnam: Long Time
Coming", which won both the Aspen Film Festival audience award
and an Emmy. He is the author of two books on the subject of jazz,
"Black Talk," a cultural history of the music, and "Talking
Jazz," a series of conversations with well known musicians. His
most recent record, released in January 2003, is "Walk Pretty",
the songs of Alec Wilder.
 Sidran has produced recordings for Mose Allison, Lee Konitz,
Johnny Griffin, Chico Hamilton, Diana Ross, and others, and
collaborated with Van Morrison and Georgie Fame on the tribute album
The Songs of Mose Allison: Tell Me Something in 1996. Ben has
also authored liner notes for, among other, for Mose Allison, Sonny
Clark, Chick Corea, Georgie Fame, Tommy Flanagan, Grant Green &
Sonny Clark, Lee Konitz, Bob Malach, Kitty Margolis, Jackie McLean,
Van Morrison, Ira Sullivan, and our own Ricky Peterson.
Sidran received a PhD. in
philosophy/musicology, writing his doctoral thesis on
African-American culture and music in the United States. For
those who wish to learn more about the roads Sidran has traveled, his
latest book, "Ben Sidran: A Life in the Music (A Memoir)"
was published in 2003 by Taylor Trade Press, which Library Journal
summarized by saying, "As a document of one man's personal and
musical journal and as a work the presents the context of jazz in the
late 20th Century, this book is an unqualified winner....done with
fluid prose and a keen insight into pacing-much like a fine jazz
performance."
The Artists' Quarter is located in the historic Hamm Building in
Downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, ( 408 St. Peter) near the corner of St.
Peter and 7th Place. (651) 292-1359. For More info, pictures and videos
of the club see http://www.mnjazz.com
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Friday, 21 November 2008
