Adam Benjamin is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. He is a founding member of

Kneebody Kneebody is an American band formed in 2001, consisting of Adam Benjamin on keyboards, Shane Endsley on trumpet, Ben Wendel on tenor saxophone, and Nate Wood on bass guitar and drums. History Ben Wendel, Shane Endsley, Adam Benjamin, and Kave ...

, and leads an active career as a performer and writer. He has been recognized as a Rising Star in Jazz by '' Downbeat Magazine''.

Background

Benjamin attended the

Eastman School of Music The Eastman School of Music is the music school of the University of Rochester, a private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. Established in 1921 by celebrated industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman, it was the ...

and

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

, where he received a bachelor's and master's degree in jazz studies. Since then, he has performed at numerous festivals and clinics with groups such as

Dave Douglas David or Dave Douglas may refer to: Entertainment * David Douglas (director) (born 1953), Canadian cinematographer, director and writer * Dave Douglas (trumpeter) (born 1963), American jazz trumpeter * Dave Douglas (drummer) (born 1979), American ...

's Keystone,

So Percussion Sō Percussion is a Grammy winning American percussion quartet formed in 1999 and based in New York City. Composed of Josh Quillen, Adam Sliwinski, Jason Treuting, and Eric Cha-Beach, the group is well known for recording and touring internationa ...

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

, and

Joshua Redman Joshua Redman (born February 1, 1969) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He is the son of jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman (1931–2006). Life and career Joshua Redman was born in Berkeley, California, to jazz saxophonist Dewey Redman a ...

. He has served as adjunct faculty at

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, the School for Improvisational Music, and the Banff Jazz Workshop. He is currently an Associate Professor of jazz piano at the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and prim ...

, where he resides.

Discography

As leader

* 2007: ''It's A Standard, Standard, Standard, Standard World'' * 2008: ''Long Gone'' * 2010: ''Alphabets & Consequences'' With

* ''Wendel'' (2002) * ''Kneebody'' (2005) * ''Low Electrical Worker'' (2007) * ''Kneebody Live: Volume One'' (2007) * ''Twelve Songs By Charles Ives'' (2009) * ''Kneebody Live: Volume Two: Live in Italy'' (2009) * ''You Can Have Your Moment'' (2010) * ''Kneebody Live: Volume Three: Live in Paris'' (2011) * ''The Line'' (2013) * ''Kneedelus'' (2015) * ''Anti-Hero'' (2017) * ''By Fire'' (2019) * ''Chapters'' (2019) * ''Live at Le Crescent'' (2022) * ''Reach'' (2025)

As sideman

With

& Keystone * ''Live in Sweden'' (Greenleaf, 2005) * ''

Moonshine Moonshine is alcohol proof, high-proof liquor, traditionally made or distributed alcohol law, illegally. The name was derived from a tradition of distilling the alcohol (drug), alcohol at night to avoid detection. In the first decades of the ...

'' (Greenleaf, 2007) * ''Live at Jazz Standard'' (2008) * ''Spark of Being: Expand'' (2010) With

Donny McCaslin Donald Paul McCaslin (born August 11, 1966) is an American jazz saxophonist. He has recorded over a dozen albums as a bandleader in addition to many sideman appearances, including on David Bowie's final studio album, ''Blackstar (album), Blacksta ...

* ''Perpetual Motion'' (2010) With Jimmy Chamberlin * ''Life Begins Again'' (2005) With Darek Oleskiewicz * ''Like A Dream'' (2004)

References

External links

Official websiteBlog posts by Adam Benjamin on the Greenleaf Music blogJazz Times Review of Alphabets and Consequences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, Adam American jazz keyboardists Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) California Institute of the Arts alumni Eastman School of Music alumni Jazz musicians from Los Angeles Living people 21st-century American keyboardists Kneebody members