A top 30 hit
is no small achievement, but considering Ben Green’s
single “Two To One” off his eponymous 2002 debut
was produced by the artist and released on his own label
(distributed by Artemis Records), it was nothing short of
a phenomenon.
Born
and raised in New York City, Ben Green started playing piano
at age 3 and writing songs by age 9. While attending Skidmore
College, Ben played the folk clubs of Saratoga Springs,
NY until the late, great Lena Spencer of Caffe
Lena's encouraged him to pursue a career as a recording
artist.
Several
years of making demos and playing around NYC led to signing
a publishing deal with EMI in 1990 and an artist deal with
the ill fated SBK records. Ben enjoyed success as a songwriter,
having his work covered by R&B great Buddy
Miles and sax soloist Warren
Hil. He also wrote and performed the title song
for the Rob Lowe movie, The Finest Hour . His songs have
been featured at various radio formats including NPR, AC
and AAA.
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Ben’s
new CD World’s Fair is an edgy follow up to his 2002
charting debut. Featuring performances by notable musicians
and artists including Phoebe
Snow, Chris
Botti and Jerry
Marotta, World’s Fair showcases many collaborative
talents. At times thoughtful and introspective, Ben nevertheless
resists taking himself too seriously. “Broken Man”,
a song about domestic violence and codependence is balanced
by “Supermarket Clams”, a humorous look at clams
that end up in shrink wrap at the grocery. Embellished by
the horn and string arrangements of Rob
Mathis, Ben’s new CD is a multilayered exploration
of life and all its complexities.
The
Musicians:
Vocals, Piano, Acoustic Guitar: Ben Green
Guitars: Marc Shulman, Duke
Levine
Bass: T-Bone Wolk
Drums: Sammy
Merendino, Jerry
Marrotta, Dave
Mattacks, Shawn Pelton
Trumpet: Chris Botti
Hammond B3 Organ: Chris Palmaro
Percussion: Carlito
Soto
Background Vocals: Phoebe
Snow, Dee
Carstensen, Amy
Helm, Rachael
Davis, Fiona
McBain, Ben
Wisch
Horn and String Arrangements: Rob
Mathes
Horn Section: Jeff
Kievit, Dave Mann,
Andy
Snitzer, Mike Davis
String Section: Sandra Park, Lisa Kim, Rob Rinehart, Alan
Stepansky
Produced by Ben Green and B.Lewis
Mixed by Ben Wisch
Mastered Greg Calbi at Sterling
Sound
World's Fair is now available at CD
Baby and Amazon
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