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 th ...

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), 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 voca ...

that drew him to synthesizers 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,

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,

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 fu ...

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-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 Estefan, father ...

, 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 ...

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 popula ...

since the early 90s and he played piano and keyboards with the Bee Gees. 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 v ...

Mallorca

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

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, Groove Collective 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, Tony Scherr, James Maddock, Dana Fuchs, 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 Band. Other tours include the Barry Gibb Mythology Tour,

, Gregg Allman Band, and others.

Discography

* 1991 ''Extra Strength'', Active Ingredient * 1992 ''Exposé (album), Exposé'', Exposé * 1994 ''On a Ride'', Prince Rahiem * 1995 ''Let 'Em Roll'', Loaded Dice * 1996 ''Armageddon'', Mission Control * 1996 ''Trilogia'', Trilogia * 1998 ''Señor Bolero'', José Feliciano * 1998 ''One Night Only (Bee Gees album), 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 * 2009 ''What Does It Take?'', Nell Bryden * 2010 ''Mirror'', Marcus Wolf * 2012 ''Scott Sharrard & the Brickyard Band'', Scott Sharrard * 2013 ''Moon over Babylon'', Kenny Rampton * 2014 ''Heart of Memphis'', Robin McKelle & the Flytones * 2015 ''Gregg Allman Live: Back to Macon GA'', Gregg Allman * 2016 ''Behind the Vibration'',

* 2016 ''In the Now'',

* 2017 ''The Green'', James Maddock

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