Born in Austin, Texas, Ben Palmer has been playing guitar and bass for some 20 years. He's performed around the United States and Europe with his own bands and with other talented musicians.
He now lives in Durham, NC. He is known in the Triangle area for his live performances and for helping students progress rapidly in private guitar and bass lessons. Ben enjoys teaching his students songs they enjoy listening to and in the process, help them understand the way music works.
Ben plays bass, both upright and electric, with a variety of ensembles in a broad range of styles, including straight-ahead jazz, blues, R+B, rock, funk, Latin, theater, singer/songwriter, and bluegrass. He has recorded more than 20 CDs. He has been spotted playing drums or guitar on occasion. Ben has served as MC many times and periodically does voice-over work, most recently for Research Triangle Institute.
He currently plays with Afro-Cuban dance/jazz band Mambo Crew, guitarist Kevin van Sant, singer Carter Minor, saxophonist and vocalist Tim Smith, pianist Chris Reynolds, trumpeter and vocalist Robert Moore, Dave and Lola Youngman, and Laura Ridgeway to name a few. He usually runs out of fingers counting the bands he has gigs with. Ben is also always up for new projects as well. "the variety of my gigs keeps the interest fresh...keeps me on my toes"
Ben has played almost every night club, country club, swing dance, bar, hotel, recording studio and festival in the Triangle. He has played with Scott Sawyer, Ed Paolintonio, Gary Brunotte, Elmer Gibson, Robert Griffin, New York based drummers Wes Little and Rodney Howard, Mel Melton and the Wicked Mojos, Robert Moore, Roy Roberts, Armand Lencheck, Will McFarlan, Lightnin' Wells, Deborah Coleman, and David Dyer, to name a few.(more complete list below) Ben has giged several times with Blue Lou Marini of Blues Brothers fame.
Ben played the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland every year between 2000 and 2004. There, he hosted and attended jam sessions with local and international musicians and performed on stage with Peter Cincotti. George Benson and Jon Anderson of Yes sat in on an impromptu street jam session. Many other main stage musicians sat in on Ben's street performing.
Ben's goals include performing at music festivals, domestic and foreign, as well as local concerts and private functions. He is currently seeking new students interested in jazz on the upright bass. He plans to continue teaching guitar at the Music Loft until it isn't the most popular instrument anymore-- which will never happen.
Besides music, Ben has a decidedly green perspective. He uses compact fluorescent bulbs in every socket and brags about his $20 electric bill. He bikes whenever possible. Ben is an avid gardener and urges people to shop (and eat) locally. You will be offered fresh tomatoes if you see Ben over the summer. As the smallest possible company, one person, Ben is walking the walk against globalization.
Some people I've played with, in no particular order:
Greg Gelb, Kathy Gelb, Gabe Evans, Rodney Marsh, Joe Izzo, Alvin Atkinson, Chip Crawford and Eve Cornelius, Ray Codrington, Drew Lile, Grant Osborne, Todd Proctor, Chuck Leonard, Thomas Taylor, Bill Fox, Paul Tartif, Ed Thigpen, Brian Horton, Brother Yusef, Ira Wiggins, Steve Hobbes, Laura Ridgeway, Bus Brown, Frankie Alexander, Rebecca and Bill
Newton, Robert Griffin, John Worthington, Clay Buckner, Rah Bickley, Alexis Cole, Janet Clark, Janet Stolp, Mike Bisdee, Keith Henderson, Susan Reeves, Tim Duffy, Cool John Ferguson, The Terry Wiley Band, The Castaways, Ed Butler, Dan Davis, Triple Fret, Chris Frank, George Hindenach, Sam Bruton, Wes Little, Rodney Howard, Kevin VanSantJonathan Byrd, Jim Crew, Carter Minor, Mark Wells, Drew Lile, Wayne Key, Bill Baucom, Big Rick, Frank Corbi, Tony Bowman, Martin Eagle, The UNCGreensboro Orchestra and Big Band, The Duke University Orchestra, Raleigh Jazz Orchestra, and The Raleigh Symphony.
He has played every Location of The Cats Cradle, Centerfest, The Durham Blues Festival, Apple Chill, Festifall, The Montreux Jazz Festival, Artsplosure, The Fort Fisher Seafood and Jazz Festival, Hillsboro Hog Day, Festival for the Eno, Greensboro Street Scene (that's all I could think of)
The Coasters, Jimmy Heath, Guitar Gabriel, Nappy Brown, Blue Lou Marini, Peter Cincotti, George Benson,
Ben has hosted jam sessions at The Cave, Seventh Street, The Blue Bayou, The Bread and Board, The Lounge, Francesca's, Ooh La Latte, and Siren's Lounge
Ben has taught guitar and bass at the Music Loft since 1989.
