Ben Goldberg is an American clarinet player and composer.

Career

In the early 1990s, Ben Goldberg performed alongside electric bassist Dan Seamans and percussionist

Kenny Wollesen Kenny Wollesen (born 1966) is an American drummer and percussionist. Wollesen has recorded and toured with Tom Waits, Sean Lennon, Ron Sexsmith, Bill Frisell, Norah Jones, John Lurie, Myra Melford, Steven Bernstein, and John Zorn. He is a foun ...

as the New Klezmer Trio. They went on to produce three albums and the free improvisation on "Masks and Faces" was described as having "kicked open the door for radical experiments with Ashkenazi roots music." Goldberg's musicality has influenced and inspired local musicians in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. Goldberg is also the founder of the music label BAG Production. Recently Goldberg has branched out into songwriting. His "Orphic Machine" project, largely commissioned by Chamber Music America, was performed in Los Angeles. The song-cycle is based on the writings of

Allen Grossman Allen R. Grossman (January 7, 1932 – June 27, 2014) was a noted American poet, critic and professor. Biography Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1932,Bruce Weber (June 29, 2014)Allen Grossman, A Poet's Poet, and Scholar, dies at 82 The N ...

and, for one critic, "the piece's thoughtful, sprawling compositions course through such a variety of styles and open-ended impulses that it would be tempting to dub this a new kind of world music". Regarding songwriting and composing, in a 2010 profile piece in

All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...

, Goldberg said, "I don't just want to give people something that they can appreciate or understand, or that makes them think, or something like that. I used to kind of feel that that's what I wanted to do, but that's not what I want anymore. I want to give people something that they can love." In 2011, Goldberg was named the No. 1 Rising Star Clarinetist by the ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' Critic's Poll.

Discography

As leader

* New Klezmer Trio ''

Masks and Faces ''Masks and Faces'' is a 1917 British silent biographical film directed by Fred Paul and starring Johnston Forbes-Robertson, Irene Vanbrugh and Henry S. Irving. The film depicts episodes from the life of the eighteenth-century Irish actress P ...

'' (Tzadik, 1991) * '' The Relative Value of Things'' (33 1/4), with

(1993) * Junk Genius ''Junk Genius'' (Knitting Factory Works) with John Schott,

Trevor Dunn Trevor Roy Dunn (born January 30, 1968) is an American composer, bass guitarist, and double bassist. He came to prominence in the 1990s with the experimental band Mr. Bungle. While performing with Mr. Bungle, Dunn would dress similar to the ...

, and

(1995) * New Klezmer Trio '' Melt Zonk Rewire'' (Tzadik, 1995) * ''Light at the Crossroads'' (Songlines) with

Marty Ehrlich Marty Ehrlich (born May 31, 1955) is a multi-instrumentalist (saxophones, clarinets, flutes) and is considered one of the leading figures in avant-garde jazz. Biography Though born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the portion of Ehrlich's youth spent in ...

(1997) * ''What Comes Before'' (Tzadik), reflections on post-tonal harmonic structures with John Schott and Michael Sarin (1998) * ''Twelve Minor'' (Avant) (1998) * Ben Goldberg Trio ''Here By Now'' (Music and Arts) with

and Elliot Humberto Kavee (1998) * Junk Genius ''Ghost of Electricity'' (Songlines) (1999) * New Klezmer Trio ''

Short for Something ''Short for Something'' is the third album by the New Klezmer Trio, Ben Goldberg - clarinet, Dan Seamans - bass, and Kenny Wollesen - drums, which was released on the Tzadik label in 2000.Trevor Dunn Trevor Roy Dunn (born January 30, 1968) is an American composer, bass guitarist, and double bassist. He came to prominence in the 1990s with the experimental band Mr. Bungle. While performing with Mr. Bungle, Dunn would dress similar to the ...

(2000) * Ben Goldberg ''Eight Phrases for Jefferson Rubin'' (Victo) (2004) * Ben Goldberg Quintet ''The Door, the Hat, the Chair, the Fact'' (Cryptogramophone), a record of compositions dedicated to Steve Lacy (2006) * ''Plays Monk'' (Long Song Records, 2007) – with

Scott Amendola Scott Amendola (born February 6, 1969) is an American drummer from the San Francisco Bay Area. His styles include jazz, blues, groove, and rock.Andrew Gilbert"Exploring New Degrees In Drumming" ''sfgate.com'', October 3, 2004. Amendola is origi ...

and

Devin Hoff Devin Hoff is an American bassist, composer and arranger. Hoff has collaborated with Julia Holter, Nels Cline, Sharon Van Etten, Shannon Lay, Cibo Matto, Kira Roessler, Good For Cows, Xiu Xiu, and others. Hoff has also released three albums ...

Tin Hat Tin Hat (formerly the Tin Hat Trio) is an acoustic chamber music group currently based in San Francisco, California. Their music combines many genres of music, including jazz, southern blues, bluegrass, neoclassical, eastern European folk music ...

''The Sad Machinery of Spring'' (Rykodisc, 2007) * Ben Goldberg ''Go Home'' (BAG Production, 2009) * Ben Goldberg Trio ''Speech Communication'' (Tzadik, 2009) – with

Greg Cohen Greg Cohen (born July 13, 1953) is an American jazz bassist who has been a member of John Zorn's Masada quartet and worked with numerous other noted musicians for over four decades. Career Cohen plays traditional jazz and other styles, includi ...

and

* Clarinet Thing ''Cry, Want'' (BC Records, 2009) *

''Foreign Legion'' (BAG Production, 2010) * Ben Goldberg Quartet – '' Baal: Book of Angels Volume 15'' (Tzadik, 2010) –

John Zorn John Zorn (born September 2, 1953) is an American composer, conductor, saxophonist, arranger and producer who "deliberately resists category". Zorn's avant-garde and experimental approaches to composition and improvisation are inclusive of jaz ...

's Masada Book 2 *

''The Rain is a Handsome Animal'' (New Amsterdam, 2012) * ''Subatomic Particle Homesick Blues'' (BAG Production, 2013) – with

Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006). Life and career Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman ...

Ron Miles Ronald Glen Miles (May 9, 1963 – March 8, 2022) was an American jazz trumpeter, cornetist, and composer. He recorded for the labels Prolific (1986), Capri Records (Jazz record label), Capri (1990), and Rykodisc, Gramavision. His final album, ...

Ches Smith Gordon McChesney "Ches" Smith is an American musician, whose primary instruments are drums, percussion, and vibraphone. He recorded and performed an album of his own solo percussion pieces entitled ''Congs for Brums'' (2006). In 2010 he release ...

, and

* ''Unfold Ordinary Mind'' (BAG Production, 2013) – with

Ellery Eskelin Ellery Eskelin (born August 16, 1959) is an American tenor saxophonist raised in Baltimore, Maryland and residing in New York City. His parents, Rodd Keith and Bobbie Lee, were both professional musicians. Rodd Keith died in 1974 in Los Angeles, ...

Nels Cline Nels Courtney Cline (born January 4, 1956) is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004. In the 1980s he played jazz, often in collaboration with his twin brother Alex Cline, Alex, a percussionis ...

, and

* ''Worry Later'' (BAG Production, 2014) –

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

compositions * ''DIALOGUE'' (BAG Production, 2015) – with

Myra Melford Myra Melford (born January 5, 1957) is an American avant-garde jazz pianist and composer. A 2013 Guggenheim Fellow, Melford was described by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' as an "explosive player, a virtuoso who shocks and soothes, and who can m ...

* ''Orphic Machine'' (BAG Production, 2015) * ''Vol. 1: The Humanities'' (BAG Production, 2017) * ''Good Day for Cloud Fishing'' (Pyroclastic, 2019) – to poems by Dean Young

As sideman

With

* ''

New Monastery ''New Monastery'' (subtitled ''A View Into the Music of Andrew Hill'') is an album by American guitarist Nels Cline performing compositions by Andrew Hill which was released in September 2006 on the Cryptogramophone label. Reception The Allmusi ...

'' (Cryptogramophone, 2006) * '' Lovers'' (

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

, 2016) With

Kris Davis Kris Davis (born 1980) is a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. Early life Davis was born in Vancouver in 1980 and grew up in Calgary, Alberta. She studied classical piano from the age of six and discovered jazz while a high school student. She ...

* '' Save Your Breath'' (

Clean Feed Clean may refer to: * Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment * Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt Arts and media Music A ...

, 2015) With

Allison Miller Allison Miller is an American actress. She is best known for playing Michelle Benjamin on the NBC series '' Kings'', Skye Tate on the Fox series '' Terra Nova'', and Carrie on the NBC series ''Go On''. She starred as Laura Larson on the Syfy tel ...

's Boom Tic Boom * ''Otis the Polar Bear'' (Royal Potato Family, 2016) With

Jamie Saft Jamie Saft is an American keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was born in New York City, and studied at Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private mu ...

* ''

Borscht Belt Studies ''Borscht Belt Studies'' is an album by Jamie Saft which was released on the Tzadik label in 2009. Reception In his review for Allmusic, Thom Jurek notes that "Saft divides the album into musical sections that alternate by cut. Some compositions ...

'' (Tzadik, 2011) With

's Be Bread ''The Whole Tree Gone'' (Firehouse 12, 2010)

References

External links

*
BAG Productions
BAG Production record label * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldberg, Ben Place of birth missing (living people) 1959 births 20th-century American composers American jazz clarinetists American jazz composers American male jazz composers Living people Mills College alumni Musicians from Berkeley, California Musicians from Denver University of California, Santa Cruz alumni 21st-century American composers Jazz musicians from California Jazz musicians from Colorado 21st-century clarinetists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Music & Arts artists 20th-century jazz composers 21st-century jazz composers

Career

Discography

As leader

As sideman

References

Further reading

External links