Mask of the Muse

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Ben Flocks Quartet Live at Kuumbwa in June, 2021

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About

**Saxophonist and educator Ben Flocks captivates audiences around the world with his soulful sound.** Born in Santa Cruz, California and residing in Los Angeles, Ben leads his own group and plays as a sideman in a variety of musical settings.
Ben has led his band at the Monterey Jazz Festival and the Bern Jazz Festival in Switzerland, and has had the honor to perform with Joshua Redman’s Trio, with Dave Brubeck as a Brubeck Institute Fellow, with Thana Alexa's Quintet, with Antonio Sanchez and Migration, and with Sammy Miller and the Congregation.
Ben holds a MA in Music Education from San José State University and a BFA from the New School in New York and currently serves on faculty at Glendale Community College, Harvard-Westlake School, and the Stanford Jazz Workshop. Ben has a passion for music education and teaches saxophone lessons, improvisation courses, and ensembles utilizing focused listening and peer-mentorship methods. He also leads interactive concerts in schools for all ages tracing the history of jazz.

outreach

Ben started teaching music while still in high school, and he shares a passion for both performing and educating.

While attending the Brubeck Institute Fellowship Program, Ben gave lessons and taught master classes to students around the country.

Thereafter, he completed a highly selective two-year mentorship at the Stanford Jazz Workshop in 2011. Ben now is a member of the faculty at the Stanford Jazz Workshop, and during the school year works with his former teacher Victor Lin at the Calhoun School in New York City.

Ben also leads a group through Jazz at Lincoln Center’s “Jazz for Young People” programs, performing interactive concerts and workshops throughout New York City schools.

If you’re interested in studying with Ben, he offers private lessons for saxophonists, and workshops for small and large ensembles. All ages and experience levels are welcome. Contact Ben for information, scheduling, and rates.

praise

Praise

“It’s not every day that a young badass on their instrument makes an album as unpretentious, genuine, melody-driven, and fun to listen to…one can hear California in the album a mile away.”

– Taylor Eigsti

“In a jazz sea positively overflowing with darting and sprinting and flat-out-ferocious young tenor saxophonists, Ben Flocks is one to catch. Ben’s approach is patient, passionate, forthright, kind. He doesn’t dazzle with flurries of notes or overwhelm with a tsunami of technique. But he may yet make some of the widest and longest lasting waves. More importantly, he’s diving deep. Ben’s sound seeks the heart of the matter, the soul of things.”

– Joshua Redman

“Ben Flocks is one of the most talented musicians I’ve met. His organic approach to improvising and creative spirit is truly inspiring. Ben plays with a soulfulness and maturity that’s beyond his years and I’m excited to see him continue to develop his voice.”
– Donny McCaslin

Battle Mountain Praise

Praise

“★★★“

“Soulful, heartfelt.“

– The Los Angeles Times, Chris Barton

“★★★★”

“A jovial mix of American musical styles well suited for a ride down Highway 1.”

– Downbeat Magazine, Sean J. O’Connell

“The group walks and breathes together, confidently and with youthful wisdom.”

– Candid Music Group, Jonathan Stein

“Replete with the vastness and diversity one would expect from the Golden State.”

– Nextbop, Anthony Dean-Harris

“He pours himself into the horn and at times approaches that healing sonority I associate with John Coltrane.”

– Musically Speaking, Mel Minter

“A flawless folk-jazz fusion record.”

– SomethingElse Reviews, S. Victor Aaron

“A gracious and fluent player…Flocks is simply becoming more of what he’s always been.”

– San Jose Mercury News, Richard Scheinin

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