Ben Schachter: News

I have started doing some teaching via Skype and it seems to be working quite well.
If you're interested in lessons, send me an email here (ben@sungunsung.com).

Well, we've been here in Tucson since June, and it is truly beautiful. Life is completely different now. Still, I miss playing and teaching. Anyone looking for lessons, or to make some music, please drop me a line! (ben@sungunsung.com)

I'll try to keep this brief. I'm leaving Philadelphia in a couple of months. It feels very much like it's time to try something different. So I am moving to Tucson, AZ with my beautiful wife. Don't know what will happen. Don't know what musical future (if any) there is for me. I only know it's time for a change. I will miss the wonderful friends and inspiring musicians I have come to know in the last 22 years. Too numerous to name but You Know Who You Are. I will miss all of the students - past and present - I have been fortunate to work with. THANK YOU ALL. You are loved.

The Wednesday gigs at TIME have ended. When Re:Trio finds a new home, we'll let you know...

Re:Trio returns to Wednesday nights at Time's Bohemian Lounge. Starting September 9th. Sets begin at 9pm.
$5 cover. See you there!

Re:Trio is taking a break from the Wednesday night series. We will resume Wednesday nights at TIME (Bohemian Lounge) starting in September. See you then!

Re:Trio (Ben Schachter, Matt Scarano, Leon Boykins) will be playing in the upstairs Bohemian Lounge at TIME, 1315 Sansom St., Philadelphia EVERY WEDNESDAY NIGHT! Sets start at 9:00pm. There is NO cover. Series begins on 1/21/09. Come hang with us!

After a four-year hiatus, Philadelphia “underground jazz heavy” Ben Schachter has released a new CD. OMNIBUS is Schachter's sixth recording on his own label, and features his current band - re:Trio - with drummer Matt Scarano and bassist Leon Boykins. Scarano and Boykins were students at Temple University’s highly–regarded jazz studies program, where Schachter has taught for years. No fool, Ben snatched them up immediately. The three are now simply good friends and musical collaborators. Also joining Schachter for two pieces on the new CD is the great pianist Tom Lawton, another prodigious if under-appreciated presence on the Philly jazz scene.

OMNIBUS represents various aspects of Schachter's music-making: An approach to composing that is simpler, leaner and more elemental (“Transparent”, “Westward”); A continued interest in unusual rhythmic meters (“Bluesharp”, “Inner Urge”); An emphasis on solid grooves (“Think of One”, “Giant Steps”); The importance of extended improvisation for exploration and discovery (“Einstein Daydreamt”, “She Wept”).

OMNIBUS and the rest of Ben's recordings are available at CDbaby.com, iTunes, bestbuy.com, and all better-known retail stores and download sites.