BEN GOLDBERG
Genres: Avant-Garde Jazz, Eclectic Fusion, 21st Century Modern, Pop, Art Song, Folk, Jazz Related Improv, Composition • United States

Clarinetist Ben Goldberg was born and raised in Denver, Colorado, later earning an undergraduate music degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a subsequent Master of Arts in Composition from Mills College. A student of Rosario Mazzeo, Steve Lacy, and Joe Lovano, Goldberg initially won acclaim as a member of the New Klezmer Trio, debuting in 1991 with Masks and Faces; two years later he won a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to mount a retrospective series spotlighting the music of key American jazz composers including Thelonious Monk and Herbie Nichols, a project on which he collaborated with the likes of Andrew Hill and Bobby Bradford. After teaming with Kenny Wollesen for the 1993 LP The Relative Value of Things, Goldberg resurfaced two years later with another New Klezmer Trio record, Melt Zonk Rewire; with the group Snorkel, he also contributed to 1996's Live at read more...