Click here to learn more about the album, see other reviews and find links to listen to and purchase the recording.
Welcome to the website of award-winning New York City jazz pianist and accordionist Ben Rosenblum. Click on the button below to view a full schedule, scroll down to the blog to find new updates and information, or learn more about Ben's albums as a leader, including Instead, River City, Kites and Strings and A Thousand Pebbles.
I'm beyond honored that my most recent album with the Nebula Project, A Thousand Pebbles, was featured in Downbeat Magazine alongside an interview I did with the amazing Josef Woodard. Thank you so much to everyone involved with the project. We have some really exciting performances and recordings in the works, so I hope you'll continue to join us as we embark on this journey with the large ensemble! Click here to read the article on Downbeat's website.
Click here to learn more about the album, see other reviews and find links to listen to and purchase the recording.
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Hey everyone! I'm super excited to announce that my album, A Thousand Pebbles, was released this February on Friday, February 10th! This is my fourth album as a leader and the second with my six piece ensemble, the Nebula Project, featuring some of my absolute favorite musicians in New York City: Wayne Tucker on trumpet and flugelhorn, Jasper Dutz on alto saxophone, bass clarinet and alto flute, special guest Xavier Del Castillo on tenor saxophone and flute, Rafael Rosa on guitar, Marty Jaffe on bass and Ben Zweig on drums and percussion. The album is almost entirely my original compositions, ranging from straight ahead jazz to Brazilian forró to Irish jigs to Bulgarian folkloric styles. It features both the piano and accordion prominently, including multiple tracks where I play both. Click here to learn more about the album and read the press release, which includes a lot more detail about the inspiration behind the songs. The link above will also contain more information on how to purchase the album, both physically and digitally. A huge thanks goes out to everyone who was part of this album, especially my family who went above and beyond as always to help make this possible. Read below for the special thanks from the record.
Click the following links to stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, or YouTube. Hey everyone! It's been a while since I posted an update, but I have a lot of exciting projects in the works so I just wanted to make a quick post with some upcoming news and photos. Firstly, I have a new Nebula Project album coming out later this year! I had so much fun with the sextet on my most recent album, Kites and Strings, that I went back and recorded another one this past summer. The new album will be almost exclusively original compositions (in addition to one Jobim tune), and features an expanded septet format featuring special guest Xavier Del Castillo on tenor sax, in addition to our core band of Wayne Tucker on trumpet, Jasper Dutz on alto sax and bass clarinet, Rafael Rosa on guitar, Marty Jaffe on bass and Ben Zweig on drums. Looking forward to sharing more info about the release soon! I'm so excited about this project - The Nebula Project was recently voted runner up on JazzTimes' Readers Poll in 2020, and recently we've been able to begin touring. We just came back from a multi-day trip in the Northeast this past weekend and we have more in the works. With the trio, I've also been getting back to a full-time touring schedule. We did multi-week tours in the South and West Coast in 2022, and I made it over to Europe late last year to do some playing as well. Over the summer, I'll be doing a Northeast US and Canada tour with the amazing singer Laura Anglade, and beginning in the Fall I have a number of tours in the works with both the trio and the sextet. I've also been fortunate to participate in some new groups as a sideman in the past year, including the incredible Ephrat Asherie and her dance company as well as Juno award-winning Indian vocalist Kiran Ahluwalia, in addition to the many beautiful groups I've been playing with for years. As always you can visit my schedule page for the latest updates on where I'll be when. And if you would like to receive an email once a month with the most recent news, feel free to visit my contact page to sign up for my newsletter.
Hi everyone! It's been a little while since I've posted, but I hope everything has been going all right for all of you. We were incredibly fortunate recently that we got to go on a tour for the first time in a year. One of our shows at Timucua Arts Foundation was recorded and filmed, and I've shared my favorite songs on my YouTube channel. You can see all five videos in the players below. Timucua is an incredible place, and we definitely hope to be back soon! If you want to support them, visit this link and scroll down to the bottom of the page for the donate button. These videos featured two of my absolute favorite musicians - the amazing Eduardo Belo on bass and Ben Zweig on drums. I'm playing piano on most of them, but I switch to the accordion for Jacob do Bandolim's classic choro, Receita de Samba.
I'm so happy to announce that my third album as a leader, Kites and Strings, is set to be released on October 16! This album is the debut of my new sextet, the Nebula Project, and features mostly original compositions (with a few eclectic arrangements thrown in - Neil Young, Leonard Bernstein and a Bulgarian traditional song). It is also the first album where you can hear me playing both piano and accordion! Listen and learn more about the album here, or continue reading below for some videos and personal thoughts. The journey of this album is a long one - it started ten years ago in my last year of high school, when I completed the first larger ensemble version of one of the tracks on the album, Bright Above Us, and it includes compositions, arrangements and re-arrangements written across this whole span of time. It is an album that merges my deep love of both jazz and world music styles, and features many of my favorite musicians in New York City. This includes my long-time regular touring trio with Marty Jaffe on bass and Ben Zweig on drums, as well as the incredible Wayne Tucker on trumpet, Jasper Dutz on sax and bass clarinet and Rafael Rosa on guitar. It also features special guest appearances by Jake Chapman on vibraphone, Sam Chess on trombone and fellow pianist Jeremy Corren performing on two of the tracks that I play accordion on. Watching these musicians bring my music to life was such a special experience - after so many years waiting to record these compositions, I felt that I could finally express them in the way I imagined them. Since then, I've been working with my brother Dev Avidon who recorded, mixed and mastered the whole project so incredibly beautifully and guided it through the entire process to completion, and my mom who took the gorgeous cover and back photos and imagined the art for the whole project. I'm really proud of the work that went into this album, and I hope you'll all have a chance to listen to it soon! If you want to hear a preview of the album, click on the link above. I'm also including four Youtube videos taken by Kevin Jiang at our most recent live performance at the Kitano. These videos feature many of the musicians that are on the album and two of the songs (Somewhere and Laughing on the Inside) that are on the album. Thank you so much to everyone who has supported this project and I can't wait to share this music with all of you live.
Hey everyone! So much has happened since my last blog post. Scrolling back through my pictures has brought up so many wonderful memories, whether traveling overseas or performing here in New York City. It is a particularly uncertain time right now. Sadly my tour with Gabriela Martina in Switzerland had to be postponed due to the current pandemic, and it is unclear when live performances will resume. But at the very least, being in self-isolation gives me time to share a little bit about all the positive experiences I've had recently, and look forward to many things to come once the virus is past. Best wishes to everyone reading this to stay safe and healthy!
I have continued a full touring schedule with my trio. In addition to tours in the West Coast (June), Midwest (August and February) and Canada (October), we did our longest tour yet this past January and February, when we spent three and a half weeks touring in the Southern US. There were so many incredible highlights from this trip, including a TV appearance in Jacksonville on the Morning Show at News4Jax (pictured above) and over twenty shows and three educational appearances throughout the area. The picture below is from our appearance in Orlando, where we also got to work with students at UCF - thanks so much Sandy for the beautiful pictures from this performance! I have also continued to work as a sideman with Curtis Lundy, Astrid Kuljanic, Gabriela Martina, Pat Bartley (whose YouTube channel J-Music Ensemble is starting to gain some significant publicity - I'm in the playlist linked, which features our acoustic renditions of video game music) and many others, and my travels have taken me to so many beautiful places around the world. Over the summer, I spent three weeks in Croatia, Italy and Switzerland (the last of which I got to perform in as a leader with some wonderful local musicians). While I was there I also took some time off to compose new material for the trio and the sextet, some of which we have been able to debut in our recent performances. I also had the unique and amazing experience of subbing on accordion for the Off-Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish, doing twenty performances between October to December. Below are some pictures - the Colosseum in Pula, the church overlooking Lake Geneva, backstage at Fiddler, a performance with bagpipe in Cres, hiking in Quebec at Lake Gatineau, performing with Curtis Lundy in New Jersey, and finally at home in NYC, both at the Black Cat LES with Pat Barley and at Smalls. I can't wait to share some music with all of you once the self-isolation is over and live music begins again. Until then, stay well and I look forward to seeing you soon. All the best!
Hey everyone!
It's been a little while since I posted anything. This year has been filled with a number of incredibly special experiences and adventures, and I've been meaning to put together a quick post with some pictures and highlights. So far in 2019, here's what has happened:
I'm so lucky to be able to travel the world with some of my favorite musicians and closest friends, and to have met so many supporters of the music whom I have befriended throughout my tours. These people mean so much to be and make playing and performing on the road so worthwhile. I can't wait to see you all again soon. Thanks so much to all of you, and see you all in the second half of 2019! ![]() Hi everyone! I just got back from a wonderful tour of Quebec and Ontario in Canada, during which we playing eight shows across five cities. While on tour, I was very excited to see a number of great articles promoting the band and our music, including this beautiful feature by Peter Hum for the Ottawa Citizen. A huge thanks to Peter and everyone else who wrote about us and helped generate buzz for the tour. Below are some links to read articles about the band, in three different languages! Tour Preview - Ottawa Citizen (Peter Hum) Quebec Preview - Le Soleil (Josianne Desloges) - French Peterborough Preview - MyKawartha (Lance Anderson) Toronto Review - Spill Magazine (Conrad Gayle) Toronto Review - Miki Ando Life (Miki Ando) - Japanese Toronto Review - Blast Magazine (Jojo Aderson) While I was in Canada, this great interview I did with WNUR's Geoff Fenton went live as well. We talk about the new album, River City, as well as my career this far and my plans for the future. Check it out! Geoff's daughter Sara did all the editing, and I'm so happy with how it came out. River City Interview - WNUR (Geoff Fenton) Midwest Tour: Chicago, South Bend, Detroit and Lansing!
To celebrate the launch of my second album, River City, I will be doing a number of tours with my trio over the next six months. The first tour on the schedule is a return trip to the Midwest from October 12th-16th. This tour will feature appearances at some of our favorite venues from the previous tour: Merriman's in South Bend, Cliff Bell's in Detroit and Moriarty's in Lansing. I am also particularly excited to be debuting at an incredible performing arts center in the Chicago area called Ravinia. On October 13th at 8:30pm, we will be performing at Ravinia's beautiful Bennett Gordon Hall. On the afternoon leading up to this, I will also be doing a special solo accordion performance of material from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake as part of a plaque dedication at the Legacy Walk in Chicago. This tour promises to be an incredible time, and I can't wait to see all my friends in the area! Click on any of the links above to see more info about each performance. Thanks to the incredible Deborah Davis, I had the opportunity to visit and perform in Beijing, China to round out a wonderful and busy summer. We played at the beautiful Blue Note Beijing for two nights, and we also had a few days to explore the city together as a band, and travel to a section of the Great Wall. I feel so fortunate that I got to experience this magical culture for the first time, and I'm already excited to go back. Thanks for everything, Beijing!
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Upcoming Shows(For a complete list of upcoming gigs, click here. To sign up for my mailing list, click here).
Click the following links to stream Ben's latest album on: Spotify, Apple, Tidal, or YouTube. 2023: Sunday, December 3rd at 3-6pm: Ben Zweig Big Beet at Radegast (Brooklyn: Williamsburg) Monday, December 4th at 4-6pm: Cynthia Sayer and Ben Rosenblum Duo at Lincoln Center Atrium - Community Blood Drive. More info. Tuesday, December 5th at 6:30pm-9pm: Stephane San Juan Trio at Ned Nomad (Manhattan: Midtown) Sunday, December 10th at 5-6pm: Eduardo Belo at Saint Peter's Church (Manhattan: Midtown East). More info. Wednesday, December 13th at 8-10pm: Ben Sutin Klazz-Ma-Tazz at Letlove Inn (Queens: Astoria) Friday, December 15th at 7-9pm: Naoya Ogura Jazz Orchestra at Culture Lab (Queens: Long Island City). More info Sunday, December 17th at 7-10pm: Ben Rosenblum Solo at The Wallace (Manhattan: Upper West). More info. Thursday, December 21st at 6pm: Ben Rosenblum Balkan Music Concert at Flushing Library (Queens: Flushing). More info. Thursday, December 28th at 9pm-12am: Ben Zweig Big Beet at Radegast (Brooklyn: Williamsburg) Friday, December 29th at 7-9:30pm Tyler Blanton at Room 623 (Manhattan: Harlem). More info. Saturday, December 30th at 9pm-11:30pm Eduardo Belo at LunAtico (Brooklyn: Crown Heights). More info. 2024: February 22nd-March 2nd: Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project Southern Tour Thursday, February 22nd: Timucua Arts Foundation (Orlando, FL) Friday, February 23rd: The Moss Center (Miami, FL). More info. Saturday, February 24th: University of Tampa (Tampa, FL). More info. Sunday, February 25th: Penney Farms (Penney Farms, FL) Monday, February 26th: Private event in Naples, FL Tuesday, February 27th: Marco Island Center for the Arts (Marco Island, FL). More info. Thursday, February 29th: Orangeburg County Fine Arts Center (Orangeburg, SC) Friday, March 1st: Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church (Mt. Pleasant, SC). More info. Saturday, March 2nd: Lancaster Cultural Arts Center (Lancaster, SC) Thursday, March 7th (sets at 7:30pm and 9pm): Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project at Smalls (Manhattan: West Village) Friday, March 8th-Sunday, March 10th: Astrid Kuljanic Bay Area Mini-Tour Friday, March 8th: The MACC (Rancho Cordova, CA) Saturday, March 9th: White Barn (St. Helena, CA) Sunday, March 10th: Maybeck Recital Hall (Berkeley, CA) March 24th-April 1st: Rickie Lee Jones Australia Tour Sunday, March 24th: The Gov (Adelaide, Australia). More info. Tuesday, March 26th: Northcote Theatre (Melbourne, Australia). More info. Wednesday, March 27th: Northcote Theatre (Melbourne, Australia). More info. Friday, March 29th: Factory Theatre (Sydney, Australia). More info. Sunday, March 31st and Monday, April 1st: Australia Bluesfest (Byron Bay, Australia). More info. Thursday, April 4th-Sunday, April 14th: Ben Rosenblum Nebula Project West Coast Tour (More dates to be announced!) Thursday, April 4th: Jazz at the Merc (Temecula, CA) Friday, April 5th: Collage Arts (Los Angeles, CA) Saturday, April 6th: San Luis Obispo Jazz Federation (San Luis Obispo, CA) Sunday, April 7th (2pm): Encinitas Library (Encinitas, CA) Sunday, April 7th (6pm): Laguna Beach Cultural Arts Center (Laguna Beach, CA) Wednesday, April 10th: Soper Reese Theatre (Lakeport, CA) Thursday, April 11th: The Sound Room (Oakland, CA) Sunday, April 14th: Marine View Presbyterian Church (Tacoma, WA) Thursday, April 18th: Laura Anglade at Chelsea Table and Stage (Manhattan: Chelsea) Friday, April 19th: Laura Anglade at The Cooperage Project (Honesdale, PA) Saturday, April 20th: Laura Anglade at The Jazz Loft (Stony Brook, NY - Long Island) Friday, April 26th: Ben Sutin Quartet at Chris' Jazz Cafe (Philadelphia, PA) Wednesday, May 15th Ephrat Asherie Dance at UC Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA). More info. May 21st-June 1st: Gabriela Martina CD Release Tour in Europe! (details to be announced) Saturday, August 17th: Premier of commissioned composition at the Lake George Music Festival (details TBA) Saturday, September 14th: Ben Rosenblum Trio at the Community School of Music and Arts (Mountain View, CA). ben RosenblumAward-winning New York City jazz pianist and accordionist Ben Rosenblum has been described as “mature beyond his years,” (Sea of Tranquility), an “impressive talent” (All About Jazz), who “caresses [the music] with the reverence it merits” (Downbeat Magazine). Since the release of his debut trio album, Instead (4 stars, Downbeat), Rosenblum has toured extensively with his trio and sextet throughout the United States, including multiple trips to the Northeast, Midwest, South and West Coast, and internationally in Canada, Europe and Japan. He was a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall's Stern-Perelman Auditorium (with Reona Ito's New York Harmonic Band) and has appeared at prestigious venues throughout the world, including at the Appel Room at Lincoln Center, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Ravinia, Himawari-No-Sato Concert Hall in Yokohama, Bird's Eye in Basel and the Library of Congress. Rosenblum's second trio album in 2018, River City, was called “richly romantic” and “well-realized” by JAZZIZ Magazine, which featured the title track as part of their Best of Fall 2018 CD. Most recently, Rosenblum released his third album, Kites and Strings, which is the first to feature him on both piano and accordion alongside his new sextet, the Nebula Project. In 2020, the Nebula Project was voted runner-up for Best New Artist in JazzTimes' Readers' Poll. Rosenblum has been privileged to share the stage with many highly acclaimed jazz musicians, including extensive work with Curtis Lundy, Winard Harper, Deborah Davis and Chris Washburne, as well as appearances with Bobby Watson, Sean Jones, TS Monk, Warren Wolf, Eliot Zigmund, and many others. Rosenblum's musical interests also extend beyond jazz to include work in numerous world music scenes, including musical styles from Brazil, Peru, Croatia, Bulgaria, India, Ireland, Jewish traditions and more. |