Ben Jansson Quartet

As well as playing in numerous jazz festivals nationally and internationally such as, the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Hague, Holland and the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival, Jansson ( age 30) has played gigs opening up for the Count Basie Orchestra, Eartha Kitt, Dave Brubeck and Ray Charles. Recently, Ben has played with Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle, The Temptations, jazz great Red Holloway, bassist’s Rodney Whitaker, Paul Keller among others. Ben plays regulary at the Firefly Club with the Paul keller Jazz Orchestra in his home town of Ann Arbor, MI. Recently the PKO recorded a two hour television special for PBS ( not yet scheduled for airing) and the show featured a blistering sax battle between jazz great Red Holloway and Jansson. In September 2006 he was a featured soloist for jazz great Diane Schuur along with the Wayne State University bigband at the Detroit International Jazz Festival. As a leader, the Ben Jansson Quintet recently recorded its first album at the Firefly Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan (Dec. 2006). The CD, Featuring New York guitarist Randy Napoleon, Piano great Rick Roe, bassist Paul keller, and drummer Pete Siers was released in the spring (2007) on the PKO label. Ben's playing is Straight-ahead, a mix of fiery bebop and hard driving swing. Ballads and lyrical invention are also among Ben's strengths as a jazz musician. He has recorded several of his own compositions and arrangements. Jansson’s sound and style is unique, but also recalls his influences and heroes: Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins. Originally, beginning on the Alto saxophone Ben switched over to tenor sax at the age of sixteen while attending Community High School in Ann Arbor, MI and studying with multi-instrumentalist and jazz educator Mike Grace. At this time Ben also began to study with Detroit's legendary saxophonist George Benson and while still in high school Mr. Benson invited Ben to sit in with his quartet at the Botsford Inn Jazz festival in Detroit. In 1996 Ben moved to Toronto, Canada to begin studying exclusively with renowned jazz saxophonist Pat Labarbera at Humber College. While in Toronto Ben played with many of Canada's finest jazz musicians including: Pat Labarbera, Don Thompson, Phil Dwyer, Jake Wilkinson, Josh Brown, Mike Murley, Kevin Turcotte, Alex Dean and Bernie Senensky. In 2003 Ben moved back to the Detroit area. Jansson is a favorite with audiences who like uncompromising, soulful, swinging music.