Ben Castle (born 1973) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 ...

musician, the younger son of television presenter and entertainer

Roy Castle Roy Castle (31 August 1932 – 2 September 1994) was an English dancer, singer, comedian, actor, television presenter and musician. An accomplished jazz trumpet player, he could also play many other instruments. In a career as a versatile perfo ...

(1932–1994) and his wife

Fiona Fiona is a feminine given name of Gaelic origins. It means white or fair, while the Irish name ''Fíona'' means 'of wine', being the genitive of 'wine'. It was coined by Scottish writer James Macpherson. Initially, the name was confined to ...

(born 1940). He placed first in the Jazz category of the 2003 International Songwriting Competition with his song "The Heckler". Castle plays the

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

as well as the

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

and has performed as a backing musician for Duke Special,

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

, Blur,

Matthew Herbert Matthew Herbert (born in 1972), also known as Herbert, Doctor Rockit, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, Wishmountain, and DJ Empty, is a British electronic musician. He often takes sounds from everyday items to produce electronic music. ...

, Gregory Porter, Sting,

Stan Tracey Stanley William Tracey (30 December 1926 – 6 December 2013) was a British jazz pianist and composer, whose most important influences were Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. Tracey's best known recording is the 1965 album '' Jazz Suite Insp ...

, Humphrey Lyttelton,

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

, Djabe,

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. After signing with Epic Records in 2008, Faith released her debut album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?'' (2009), which produced the UK ...

, Marlena Shaw and

Jamie Cullum Jamie Paul Joseph Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, pianist, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He h ...

. Castle co-wrote the album '' Little Dreamer'' with singer Beth Rowley. The album debuted at number 6 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

in 2008. In 1986, Castle saw

Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...

play at the

Milton Keynes Bowl The National Bowl (originally the Milton Keynes Bowl) is an entertainment venue located in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The site was a former clay pit (for brick-making), filled in and raised to form an amphitheatre using sub-soil e ...

. Through his interest in drumming as a youth, he became acquainted with Marillion drummer

Ian Mosley Ian F. Mosley (born 16 June 1953) is an English drummer. He is best known for his long-time membership of the neo-prog band Marillion, which he joined for their second album, ''Fugazi'', released in 1984. He had previously been an in-demand ses ...

and many years later performed saxophone on the band's track "Deserve", from their 1999 album ''

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'', as well as recording an album with Mosley, ''Postmankind'', which was released in 2001. Castle played the

woodwind Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Ree ...

with the band

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, on their self-titled album. In 2014, Castle released ''Over The Moon'' EP with his band The Tombola Theory on Ben Castle's Major Record Label. They play original pop music inspired by traditional jazz. Ben formed the band to pay tribute to Tommy 'Tootle' Truman, a school caretaker and controversial character who played clarinet in a Trad Jazz band in his local pub every Wednesday night for nearly 23 years. He was Ben's first and most enduring musical influence. Tommy died in obscurity in 2009, leaving behind no known recordings.

Discography

*''Big Celebration'' (1994) (with Roy Castle) * ''Breathe Easy'' (1995) * ''Worship Him on the Clarinet'' (1999) *''Four From The Madding Crowd'' (2000) *''Postmankind'' (2001) (with

) *''Blah Street'' (2004) *''Over The Moon'' EP (2014) (with The Tombola Theory) *''An EP'' (2023) (with Ben Castle and the Blah Street Band)

References

External links

Official websiteInterview with Ben Castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castle, Ben 1973 births 21st-century British male musicians 21st-century British saxophonists British male jazz musicians British male saxophonists Date of birth missing (living people) English jazz saxophonists Living people Place of birth missing (living people)