Ben Stivers is an American musician. Stivers records, tours, and collaborates with artists across multiple genres, including jazz, blues, rock, pop, Latin pop, and jazz fusion. In June 2019 Ben joined

Lyle Lovett and His Large Band ''Lyle Lovett and His Large Band'' is Lyle Lovett's third album, released in 1989. Lovett won the Grammy Award for Best Male Country Vocal Performance for the album. Lovett's cover of Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" was later included in the ...

on their US tour, playing piano and keyboards.

Early life

Stivers was born in Indiana but his family moved to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

when he was four to pursue musical careers. His father was the bandleader at

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

and his mother was a professional violin player. Stivers was a devoted classical piano student and earned recognition as a finalist in the prestigious Arnold Bullock National Piano Competition at age 16. While attending

Chaparral High School (Paradise, Nevada) Chaparral High School is a public high school in Clark County School District located in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is located in the east side of the valley. The school was established in the fall of 1973. Its mascot is Kevin the Cowboy and its schoo ...

, he took an interest in jazz fusion bands such as the

Yellowjackets A yellowjacket is a black-and-yellow vespid wasp. Yellowjacket(s) or Yellow Jacket(s) may also refer to: Places * Yellow Jacket, Colorado, an unincorporated town * Yellow Jacket, Florida, an unincorporated area in Dixie County, Florida Arts, e ...

and

Weather Report Weather Report was an American jazz fusion band active from 1970 to 1986. The band was founded in 1970 by Austrian virtuoso keyboardist Joe Zawinul, American saxophonist Wayne Shorter, Czech bassist Miroslav Vitouš, American drummer and vocali ...

that drew him to

synthesizers A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

and groove.

Miami

Stivers moved to Miami in 1986 to pursue a degree in Studio Music and Jazz at the University of Miami

Frost School of Music Frost School of Music is the music school at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. From 1926 to 2003, it was known as University of Miami School of Music. Academics and programs The University of Miami's Frost School of Music was on ...

under Vince Maggio. In Miami he worked with numerous high-profile artists such as

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...

Ricky Martin Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971), known professionally as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for his musical versatility, with his Ricky Martin albums discography, discography spanning ...

Chayanne Elmer Figueroa Arce (born June 28, 1968), better known under the stage name Chayanne, is a Puerto Rican Latin pop singer and actor. As a solo artist, Chayanne has released 21 albums and sold over 50 million records worldwide, making him one of ...

Exposé Expose, exposé, or exposed may refer to: News sources * Exposé (journalism), a form of investigative journalism * '' The Exposé'', a British conspiracist website Film and TV Film * ''Exposé'' (film), a 1976 thriller film * ''Exposed'' (1932 ...

Jon Secada Juan Francisco Secada Ramírez (born October 4, 1961), better known as Jon Secada, is a Cuban-born American singer. He has won two Grammy Awards and sold 15 million records, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. His music fus ...

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

Emilio Estefan Emilio Estefan Gómez (born March 4, 1953) is a Cuban Americans, Cuban-born American musician and producer. Estefan has won 19 Grammy Awards. He first came to prominence as a member of the Miami Sound Machine. He is the husband of singer Gloria ...

, Dan Warner,

Matchbox 20 Matchbox Twenty (also known as Matchbox 20 and MB20) is an American rock band formed in Orlando, Florida, in 1995. The group currently consists of Rob Thomas (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Brian Yale (bass guitar), Paul Doucette (drums, r ...

and many others. A highlight of his Miami years was his collaboration with the Gibb family. He has toured and collaborated with

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popul ...

since the early 90s and he played piano and keyboards with the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

. He played on the Bee Gees records

This Is Where I Came In ''This Is Where I Came In'' is the twenty-second and final studio album by the pop group the Bee Gees. It was released on 24 April 2001 by Polydor in the UK and Universal in the US, less than two years before Maurice Gibb died from a cardiac ar ...

and

One Night Only (Bee Gees album) ''One Night Only'' is a live album and DVD/Blu-ray by the Bee Gees. It features the group's concert at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 1997 and includes many of their greatest hits. The CD is edited, with some songs omitted, though the DVD ver ...

Mallorca

Stivers moved to Spain in the late 90s to pursue a full-time jazz residency project in

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

New York City

In 2001 Stivers moved to New York City, where he played with musicians such as Teddy Kumpel, Kenny Rampton,

Rez Abbasi Rez Abbasi (born August 27, 1965) is a Pakistan-born American jazz guitarist, composer, and record producer based in New York City. Biography Abbasi was born in Karachi, Pakistan. When he was four, his family moved to Los Angeles, and at eleven h ...

Donny McCaslin Donald Paul McCaslin (born August 11, 1966) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has recorded over a dozen albums as a bandleader in addition to many sideman appearances, including on David Bowie's final studio album, ''Blackstar'' (2016). Early ...

Groove Collective Groove Collective is an American band. In 2007 they were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year for the release ''People People Music Music'' on the Savoy Jazz label. Style Groove Collective was formed in 1990 ...

and many others. He subsequently founded the Ben Stivers Organ Trio. In addition to his jazz piano and organ work, Stivers collaborates with many singer/songwriters, dance studios, producers and performers. Some of his collaborations include

Scott Sharrard Scott Sharrard (born December 28, 1976) is an American musical artist widely known as the lead guitarist and musical director of the Gregg Allman Band. A prolific songwriter and talented singer, he has also released several soul-influenced alb ...

Tony Scherr Tony Scherr is an American jazz and folk rock bassist, guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Biography Scherr was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and is a graduate of the Hammonasset School. He played with Woody Herman as a teenag ...

James Maddock James Maddock (born 1962) is an English singer-songwriter and performing musician. Originally from Countesthorpe, Leicester, Maddock has been based in New York City since 2003. His first album was ''Tied Weight'' in 1982. (Reach Up Records SRO 0 ...

Dana Fuchs Dana Fuchs (pronounced Fyooks, born January 10, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter known for a mix of Southern rock, soul, roots, and blues. She is also an actor. ''The New York Times'' Stephen Holden called Fuchs' performance in the film ...

, Erik Blicker, Jason Darling, Kate Chaston, Christine Courtin and others. In 2019 Ben joined

on their US tour. In 2017-2018, Stivers was a member of the

Chris Botti Christopher Stephen Botti ( ; born October 12, 1962) is an award-winning American trumpeter and composer. In 2013, Botti won the Grammy Award in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category, for the album ''Impressions''. He was also nominated in ...

Band. Other tours include the Barry Gibb Mythology Tour,

Gregg Allman Band The Gregg Allman Band, also known as Gregg Allman & Friends, was a Southern rock/ blues rock group that Gregg Allman established and had led since the 1970s, during periods when Allman has been recording and performing separate from the Allman B ...

, and others.

Discography

* 1991 ''Extra Strength'', Active Ingredient * 1992 ''

'',

* 1994 ''On a Ride'', Prince Rahiem * 1995 ''Let 'Em Roll'', Loaded Dice * 1996 ''Armageddon'', Mission Control * 1996 ''Trilogia'', Trilogia * 1998 ''Señor Bolero'',

José Feliciano José Montserrate Feliciano García (born September 10, 1945) () is a Puerto Rican musician, singer and composer. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' "Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song " ...

* 1998 '' One Night Only'', Bee Gees * 2000 ''VH1 Storytellers'', Bee Gees * 2001 ''

'', Bee Gees * 2002 ''Shallow Breath'', Marcus Wolf * 2003 ''Deluxe'', Ron Sunshine * 2006 ''No Vacancy'', Jake Stigers * 2006 ''Kazually Speaking'', Kazual * 2006 ''Five O'Clock News'', Ryan Scott * 2006 ''MTV Unplugged'',

* 2007 ''Black and White Tour'', Ricky Martin * 2007 ''Ricky Martin... Live Black & White Tour'', Ricky Martin * 2009 ''Far from Home: A Tribute to European Song'',

Beat Kaestli Beat (pronounced bay-at) Kaestli is a Swiss singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer. Music career After receiving a scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music in 1993, he moved from his native Switzerland to New York City. He supported hims ...

* 2009 ''What Does It Take?'',

Nell Bryden Nell Bryden (born March 8, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. Early life Bryden was born in New York Hospital and grew up in an artist loft on Atlantic Avenue (New York City), Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights. ...

* 2010 ''Mirror'', Marcus Wolf * 2012 ''Scott Sharrard & the Brickyard Band'',

* 2013 ''Moon over Babylon'', Kenny Rampton * 2014 ''Heart of Memphis'', Robin McKelle & the Flytones * 2015 ''Gregg Allman Live: Back to Macon GA'',

Gregg Allman Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman Br ...

* 2016 ''Behind the Vibration'',

* 2016 ''

In the Now ''In the Now'' is the second solo album by British singer-songwriter Barry Gibb, released on 7 October 2016 by Columbia Records. Although his second solo album (since 1984's ''Now Voyager''), it is the first of all new material since the Bee Gees ...

'',

* 2017 ''The Green'',

References

External links

Official Website

Discogs Discography

Allmusic Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stivers, Ben Living people American jazz pianists American male pianists Musicians from Las Vegas Musicians from Brooklyn American jazz organists American male organists 1968 births 20th-century American pianists Jazz musicians from New York (state) 21st-century American pianists 21st-century organists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians 21st-century American keyboardists Lyle Lovett and His Large Band members