| Ben Sollee | |
|---|---|
Ben Sollee performing on June 12, 2009. |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Benjamin Croft Sollee |
| Origin | Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Genres | Bluegrass Folk Jazz |
| Occupations | Musician, singer, songwriter |
| Instruments | Cello |
| Labels | Sub Pop |
| Associated acts | Sparrow Quartet |
| Website | www.BenSollee.com |
Ben Sollee (b. ca. 1984) is a cellist and vocalist[1] known for his percussive playing style, genre hopping songwriting, wide appeal, and political activism. His music incorporates banjo, guitar, percussion and unusual cello techniques to create a unique mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz and R&B.[2]
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Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Sollee began playing the cello in elementary school. Besides classical music, his early musical influences included recordings his parents played of Wilson Pickett, Ray Charles, Billie Holiday and Otis Redding, and later he discovered folk music.[2]
In 2005, Sollee joined with Abigail Washburn (banjo and vocals), Bela Fleck (banjo) and Casey Driessen (violin) to form The Sparrow Quartet.[3] The group's debut album, Abigail Washburn & The Sparrow Quartet, was released in May 2008. That same month, Sollee came out with his first EP If You’re Gonna Lead My Country. A month later, in June 2008, he released his solo debut album Learning to Bend.
In 2007, NPR's Morning Edition named Sollee one of the "Top Ten Unknown Artists of the Year".[4] Following the release of his album in 2008, the public radio network's All Things Considered aired a feature on Sollee, describing Learning to Bend as "an inspired collection of acoustic, folk and jazz-flavored songs, filled with hope and the earnest belief that the world is good."[2]
Sollee has also been featured on the PBS series On Canvas, recorded at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia; he was 17 years old when he started a weekly run as the cellist on the house band, the Folk Boy Orchestra, of the radio program WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour.[5] Sollee's song "How to See the Sun Rise" was featured in a Season 4 episode of the Showtime television series Weeds.[6]
In March 2009, he began touring with the Vienna Teng Trio, which is led by pianist/singer-songwriter Vienna Teng, and The Paper Raincoats, a band from Brooklyn, New York.
Dear Companion, out February 16, 2010 on Sub Pop Records, is collaboration between three Kentucky musicians. The songs are written and performed by Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore, and produced by and featuring Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Monsters of Folk. Recorded in the first half of 2009 in their home state, Dear Companion explores their ties to the place they love and aims to draw attention to the problem of mountaintop removal coal mining and its impact on the people and heritage of central Appalachia.[7] The album debuted at number 6 in the nation.
In June 2011, Ben Sollee performed at Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee both as an individual artist and with My Morning Jacket.
On August 12, 2011, Ben Sollee made a surprise appearance at the Kentucky Coffeetree Cafe in Frankfort, KY to play at an open mic in support of Commonwealth Gardens, a local community gardening group fighting to empower local food production and consumption. He played about 6 or 7 songs with various musicians, mostly his drummer Jordon Ellis.
Sollee's music frequently touches on social issues including poverty and environmental issues. As a native of Kentucky he is especially passionate about the issue of mountaintop removal in coal mining. This is one of the themes of his collaboration album Dear Companion. He frequently plays benefit concerts for the organizations Kentuckians For the Commonwealth and Oxfam America, and has made several tours of Kentucky on his bicycle, stopping in smaller towns between his headlining performances. Of specific note is the tour in the Summer of 2009 which was put on in conjunction with Oxfam America, in which he traveled 330 miles to the Bonnaroo festival with his supplies and cello strapped to his bicycle. He uses a special long-frame bicycle made by Xtracycle which weighs about 60 lbs when fully packed.[8]
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