Ben S. TakeLessons Instructor music, jazz piano, jazz improvisation, jazz ensemble coaching, composition Newton Center, MA

    Ben, from Newton, Massachusetts, graduated cum laude from Milton Academy in 2006, and is currently enrolled in the New England Conservatory's jazz studies program. He began playing piano at age 6, and began studying jazz at age 8, playing in an ensemble coached by trumpeter Phil Grenadier. At age 13 he opened for Danilo Perez at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

    Ben has studied jazz improvisation and composition privately with Danilo Perez, Ran Blake, Vijay Iyer, and Kyle Aho. In 2004 and 2006, Ben performed at the Berklee College of Music's Annual High School Jazz Festival, and both times won a Superior Musicianship Award.

    Ben has played concerts at Boston venues such as the Berklee Performance Center, the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Regattabar, as well as the International Jazz Educators Conference in New York City. He has toured South Africa twice with the Milton Academy Jazz Combos, performing in both townships and major cities.

Guidance in jazz piano improvisation, repertoire and techniques, with a special focus on creativity.

All kinds of jazz, including standards, modern jazz, free jazz, funk and fusion, and piano techniques such as stride, comping, soloing, composition, reharmonization, transcription, etc. Also, rock, pop, R&B, and hip hop.

music, jazz piano, jazz improvisation, jazz ensemble coaching, composition