BEN CROSLAND
photo by John Watson
Bass guitarist, Ben Crosland, has been a mainstay on the UK jazz scene for nearly forty years, notching up a CV that includes playing with Dick Morrisey, Bobby Wellin, Louis Stewart, Mike Walker, Nikki Iles, John Taylor; and so the list goes on...
Taking his experience gathered over a long career, Crosland brings a wide variety of musical influences to the table and uses them to play jazz on the bass guitar that is deeply swinging in the finest jazz tradition yet also contains elements of the pop and rock music that were an important part of his formative years.
It should therefore came as no surprise when the bassist released Ben Crosland Quintet plays The Ray Davies Songbook in 2016 to wide critical acclaim, and has now followed this up with The Ray Davies Songbook Volume II on his own Jazz Cat imprint.
Prior to the album launch at the 606 Club in London on the 23rd April, we caught up with Ben to talk about his all time top ten favourite albums:
Taking his experience gathered over a long career, Crosland brings a wide variety of musical influences to the table and uses them to play jazz on the bass guitar that is deeply swinging in the finest jazz tradition yet also contains elements of the pop and rock music that were an important part of his formative years.
It should therefore came as no surprise when the bassist released Ben Crosland Quintet plays The Ray Davies Songbook in 2016 to wide critical acclaim, and has now followed this up with The Ray Davies Songbook Volume II on his own Jazz Cat imprint.
Prior to the album launch at the 606 Club in London on the 23rd April, we caught up with Ben to talk about his all time top ten favourite albums:
THE BEATLES - Rubber Soul
My journey to jazz began with total immersion in the pop/rock culture of the 60s and 70s. To grow up through my teenage years with the Beatles’ incredible musical development was such a wonderful musical education. Their increasingly sophisticated composing undoubtedly inspired me as an aspiring songwriter. In truth, I could have selected any one of their albums but I have gone for Rubber Soul, released in 1965 when I was 14 years old, as it seems to me to represent a major leap forward in their creativity. It was on my Dansette continuously for months. From the bluesy groove of Drive My Car to the whistful beauty of In My Life, this is a rich collection and, of course, Norwegian Wood and Michelle have been the subject of jazz interpretation over the years - maybe I saw their future potential back in the day.
CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY
This album opened up the massive possibilities of horns combining with rock instruments and first pointed me towards jazz. The opening bars of the opening track Introduction hit me like an express train. It was a true lightbulb moment. I’d never heard anything like that before. This imaginative use of horns really inspired me.
My journey to jazz began with total immersion in the pop/rock culture of the 60s and 70s. To grow up through my teenage years with the Beatles’ incredible musical development was such a wonderful musical education. Their increasingly sophisticated composing undoubtedly inspired me as an aspiring songwriter. In truth, I could have selected any one of their albums but I have gone for Rubber Soul, released in 1965 when I was 14 years old, as it seems to me to represent a major leap forward in their creativity. It was on my Dansette continuously for months. From the bluesy groove of Drive My Car to the whistful beauty of In My Life, this is a rich collection and, of course, Norwegian Wood and Michelle have been the subject of jazz interpretation over the years - maybe I saw their future potential back in the day.
CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY
This album opened up the massive possibilities of horns combining with rock instruments and first pointed me towards jazz. The opening bars of the opening track Introduction hit me like an express train. It was a true lightbulb moment. I’d never heard anything like that before. This imaginative use of horns really inspired me.
JACK BRUCE - Songs For A Tailor
I was a huge Cream fan and after the band broke up, I recall seeing a documentary on BBC TV called Rope Ladder To The Moon. It featured the making of this album and I was immediately captivated by the use of jazz musicians including Art Themen, Henry Lowther, Harry Beckett and Jon Hiseman on Bruce’s very personal, idiosyncratic compositions. The perfect melding of rock with jazz. Jazz was taking hold.
JOHN SURMAN
Once again, a TV programme led me to discover music I had never heard before. I think it was Late Night Line Up on BBC2 that featured a group led by John Surman with wonderful Caribbean musicians, Russell Henderson, Harry Miller, Stirling Betancourt and Errol Phillip playing engaging calipso jazz. I sought out the album and indeed, those tunes appeared on one side. However, the second side was a totally different proposition. It had three original compositions by Surman played by the finest young players of the day – Dave Holland, Alan Jackson, Kenny SWheeler, Harry Beckett, Malcolm Griffiths, Paul Rutherford and some of the Caribbean musicians. It was like nothing I had heard before. So this was modern jazz! I was hooked.
I was a huge Cream fan and after the band broke up, I recall seeing a documentary on BBC TV called Rope Ladder To The Moon. It featured the making of this album and I was immediately captivated by the use of jazz musicians including Art Themen, Henry Lowther, Harry Beckett and Jon Hiseman on Bruce’s very personal, idiosyncratic compositions. The perfect melding of rock with jazz. Jazz was taking hold.
JOHN SURMAN
Once again, a TV programme led me to discover music I had never heard before. I think it was Late Night Line Up on BBC2 that featured a group led by John Surman with wonderful Caribbean musicians, Russell Henderson, Harry Miller, Stirling Betancourt and Errol Phillip playing engaging calipso jazz. I sought out the album and indeed, those tunes appeared on one side. However, the second side was a totally different proposition. It had three original compositions by Surman played by the finest young players of the day – Dave Holland, Alan Jackson, Kenny SWheeler, Harry Beckett, Malcolm Griffiths, Paul Rutherford and some of the Caribbean musicians. It was like nothing I had heard before. So this was modern jazz! I was hooked.
JAMES TAYLOR - Sweet Baby
Another album that I listened to over and over again. I like to think that the beautiful song writing construction has informed my own compositional style, so wonderfully melodic. And the band is so killing – beautifully under playing with such elegance, a forerunner to JT’s current All Star Band featuring Larry Goldings, Jimmy Johnson and Steve Gadd and with the same musical sensibilites.
MILES DAVIS - Kind Of Blue
What can I say about this album that hasn’t been said a hundred times before? I think that it was the elegance of it that really captured my heart. The fabulous under playing as the musicians felt their way through these charts that they hadn’t seen before the session. And Bill Evans’ influence is so profound. And it has the best cymbal smash in all of jazz from Jimmy Cobb as the band comes out of the opening head into the blowing on So What!
Another album that I listened to over and over again. I like to think that the beautiful song writing construction has informed my own compositional style, so wonderfully melodic. And the band is so killing – beautifully under playing with such elegance, a forerunner to JT’s current All Star Band featuring Larry Goldings, Jimmy Johnson and Steve Gadd and with the same musical sensibilites.
MILES DAVIS - Kind Of Blue
What can I say about this album that hasn’t been said a hundred times before? I think that it was the elegance of it that really captured my heart. The fabulous under playing as the musicians felt their way through these charts that they hadn’t seen before the session. And Bill Evans’ influence is so profound. And it has the best cymbal smash in all of jazz from Jimmy Cobb as the band comes out of the opening head into the blowing on So What!
STEPS - Smokin’ In The Pit
This has been a favourite album ever since I discovered it through word of mouth from students on the Wavendon Summer Jazz Course in the 80s. A true supergroup playing accessible, memorable original material. Michael Brecker, Mike Mainieri, Don Grolnick, Eddie Gomez and Steve Gadd. What a band! Muscular yet tender. Imaginative performances of standards. This band just burns! This album represents all that is good about contemporary modern jazz.
DON GROLNICK - The Complete Blue Note Sessions
This a bit of a cheat because in reality it is two albums, Weaver of Dreams and Nighttown. I first came across Don Grolnick when listening to a wonderful interview with him conducted by Charles Fox on a jazz programme on BBC Radio 3 back in the early 90s. Don came across as a delightfully witty, modest man who had an extensive knowledge of the history of the music. I began to check out his own music and found these albums - a fabulous sound world of truly original compositions combined with brilliant arrangements. A massively underappreciated talent. His Octet gig in 1995 at the Irish Centre in Leeds is still the gig of my life. The Brecker Brothers, Marty Ehrlich, Kevin Eubanks, Peter Washington, Peter Erskine and Don Alias!
This has been a favourite album ever since I discovered it through word of mouth from students on the Wavendon Summer Jazz Course in the 80s. A true supergroup playing accessible, memorable original material. Michael Brecker, Mike Mainieri, Don Grolnick, Eddie Gomez and Steve Gadd. What a band! Muscular yet tender. Imaginative performances of standards. This band just burns! This album represents all that is good about contemporary modern jazz.
DON GROLNICK - The Complete Blue Note Sessions
This a bit of a cheat because in reality it is two albums, Weaver of Dreams and Nighttown. I first came across Don Grolnick when listening to a wonderful interview with him conducted by Charles Fox on a jazz programme on BBC Radio 3 back in the early 90s. Don came across as a delightfully witty, modest man who had an extensive knowledge of the history of the music. I began to check out his own music and found these albums - a fabulous sound world of truly original compositions combined with brilliant arrangements. A massively underappreciated talent. His Octet gig in 1995 at the Irish Centre in Leeds is still the gig of my life. The Brecker Brothers, Marty Ehrlich, Kevin Eubanks, Peter Washington, Peter Erskine and Don Alias!
KENNY WHEELER - Music For Large and Small Ensembles
Another lifelong hero of mine. One of the few jazz composers to really create their own musical language. And once again, exquisite melodies and chord changes. I saw his 60th birthday tour with this band. Another gig that will live with me forever. Kenny included such diverse musicians: Duncan Lamont and Evan Parker in the same sax section was just incredible. As with Grolnick, Kenny draws you into his unique world with magical results and his arrangements are sublime.
WEATHER REPORT - Heavy Weather
As an electric bass player, I owe such a debt to Jaco Pastorius for showing what was possible on the instrument. This album demonstrates just how well he combines incredible grooves with aching sensitivity: Teen Town and A Remark You Made illustrate that combination perfectly. But the whole album just bursts with memorable compositions and creativity. For me, it is the perfect jazz fusion album. Everything sits together beautifully and Jaco’s technique, wonderful though it is, isn’t an exercise in showing off his chops, rather it totally serve the music.
Another lifelong hero of mine. One of the few jazz composers to really create their own musical language. And once again, exquisite melodies and chord changes. I saw his 60th birthday tour with this band. Another gig that will live with me forever. Kenny included such diverse musicians: Duncan Lamont and Evan Parker in the same sax section was just incredible. As with Grolnick, Kenny draws you into his unique world with magical results and his arrangements are sublime.
WEATHER REPORT - Heavy Weather
As an electric bass player, I owe such a debt to Jaco Pastorius for showing what was possible on the instrument. This album demonstrates just how well he combines incredible grooves with aching sensitivity: Teen Town and A Remark You Made illustrate that combination perfectly. But the whole album just bursts with memorable compositions and creativity. For me, it is the perfect jazz fusion album. Everything sits together beautifully and Jaco’s technique, wonderful though it is, isn’t an exercise in showing off his chops, rather it totally serve the music.
For more information visit Ben Crosland's website at www.jazz-cat.com
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