Ben Hirsh Sidran is an American jazz and rock pianist, organist, vocalist and writer born in Chicago, Illinois, noted for his work with the early Steve Miller Band.
Education
Sidran was raised in Racine, Wisconsin, and attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1961, where he became a member of The Ardells along with Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs. After graduating in 1966, Sidran enrolled in the University of Sussex, England, to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy degree in American Studies.
Career
When Miller and Scaggs left Wisconsin for the West Coast and stardom, Sidran stayed behind to earn a degree in English literature. Sidran rejoined Miller in an English recording studio the next year, playing on the 1968 album Children of the Future. While in England, Sidran was a session musician for artists who included Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton and Charlie Watts.
Following the departure of Scaggs and Jim Peterman from Miller"s band in 1969, Sidran joined as a full-time keyboardist, appearing on the albums Brave New World, Your Saving Grace, Number 5 and Recall the Beginning..A Journey from Eden.
After a brief stint in Los Angeles, where he began his career as a recording artist (teamed with Scaggs and drummer Jim Keltner) and record producer, Sidran returned to Madison in 1971 and has kept the university town as a home-base ever since, playing often with such Madison-based talents as drummer Clyde Stubblefield and keyboardist-composer Leo Sidran, Sidran"s son. As a musician and a producer he has released 34 solo recordings and collaborated with jazz and popular artists who include Mose Allison, Van Morrison, Diana Ross, and Rickie Lee Jones.
Sidran has been referred to by the Chicago Sun Times as a "Renaissance man cast adrift in a modern world", and by The Times as "the first existential jazz rapper", in reference to his preferred mix of humorous, erudite commentary while playing grooves and bebop. He continues to lecture at universities, most recently on the subject of "Jews, Music and the American Dream".
Talking Jazz includes an 80-page booklet with essays from writers, critics and musicians, classic photos from Lee Tanner, and 24 compact discs featuring conversations with 60 jazz musicians, recorded during a five-year period for Sidran"s award-winning National Public Radio program Sidran on Record.
The 24 CDs orchestrated by Sidran document the speaking voice of jazz musicians, including Miles Davis, Art Blakey, and others