Ben Sidran

Ben Sidran is a pianist, composer, producer and journalist. When asked what all these activities have in common, his answer was “Jazz music. I have spent my life in the service of jazz.” Sidran was the host of National Public Radio’s landmark jazz series “Jazz Alive”, which received a Peabody Award and as the host of the VH-1 television series “New Visions”, which received the Ace Award for best music series. He has recorded forty solo albums, including the Grammy-nominated Concert for Garcia Lorca, and produced recordings for Van Morrison, Diana Ross, Mose Allison, Michael Franks, Rickie Lee Jones among others. He is the composer of the soundtrack for the acclaimed film Hoop Dreams and scored the documentary Vietnam Long Time Coming, which won both the Aspen Film Festival Award and an Emmy. Sidran has authored five books on the subject of jazz and the jazz life, including Black Talk, a cultural history of the music, and Talking Jazz, a series of conversations with inspirational musicians. He holds a PhD. in American Studies from Sussex University, Brighton, England. His latest works include the books There Was a Fire: Jews, Music and the American Dream and The Ballad of Tommy Lipuma and the recordings Picture Him Happy and Swing State.