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Two captivating artists join forces to release a new recording that reinterprets musical classics Vocalist Ben Jones and acclaimed pianist Laurence Hobgood join forces to release a captivating new recording that reinterprets musical classics Ben Jones - Vocals Laurence Hobgood - Piano Release Date: September 26, 2025 There are myriad stories contained in this music. They fall into two main categories: first, the stories told by the songs themselves; second, the story of the two artists heard here and how they came to make this album. The songs’ stories represent congruence; all depict the human struggle with life’s deepest, most complex and most rewarding emotion: romantic love. The lyrics pull a thread through the album; love lost, mourned, even scorned — then the inevitable surrender to loving anew. Ben’s and Laurence’s stories represent convergence; both hail from Midwestern cities less than 100 miles apart (Peoria and Urbana, IL), separated by a generation but shaped by parallel forces. Laurence, trained classically but a natural improviser, turns to pursuit of a career in instrumental jazz but is repeatedly drawn to projects that center around vocalists. Ben, also trained classically, ultimately progresses beyond opera to embrace many different styles, all in service of storytelling as a path to transporting his audience. Through their respective journeys each maintains painstaking devotion to the core craft discipline of their individual instruments; the finely calibrated movements of the hands that comprise the “dance” that is piano technique, the intricate array of kinesthetic gestures that leads to optimal human physical resonance — a.k.a. the “art of singing.” Despite their shared geographic origins they meet far from their Midwestern homes, out in the broader, itinerant world where artists thrive. Both are elastic, inventive players; their chemistry is quickly self-evident, as is their shared love of an eclectic body of music which itself reflects their intersecting roots. Classic jazz, soul/R&B, rock and roll, musical theater. Duke Ellington said, "There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind.” You’ll find that this credo defines Ben and Laurence’s collaboration — a collaboration enhanced in this case by stunning recording quality, courtesy of legendary engineer Leslie Ann Jones and the amazing facility at Skywalker Sound. So get comfortable, settle back and let time be suspended — a world of breathtaking sound awaits. About Ben Jones Ben Jones was most recently seen Off-Broadway in productions of Lissa Levin and Ron Abel's Twist of Fate and Ray Roderick and Joseph Baker’s Brooklyn's Bridge. An alumnus of both Chanticleer and Beach Blanket Babylon, Jones is an award-winning actor, singer, comedian and storyteller who has performed leading roles in over 20 productions, including Show Boat, The Soldier’s Tale, The Pajama Game, Tommy, Chicago and Sweeney Todd. He trained in acting, dance and music at the University of Illinois before completing graduate studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. As a soloist, Ben has shared the stage with Rita Moreno, Michael Tilson Thomas, Frederica Von Stade, Nathan Gunn, Isabel Leonard and the Bang on a Can All-Stars. His versatile voice has been featured on A Prairie Home Companion, on video games including Halo and Civilization, and on Carnegie Hall’s 2021 Voices of Hope Festival. With his one-man shows, Ben has headlined at clubs around the globe. About Laurence Hobgood Jazz pianist, composer, arranger, producer, Yamaha® artist and Grammy® winner Laurence Hobgood has enjoyed a 30+year career, including three consecutive Fellowships to the Aspen Music Festival (1990 - 92), being chosen as a 1995 Chicagoan of the Year in the Arts, a 2003 Deems Taylor Award given by ASCAP for the year’s outstanding music journalism, multiple Grammy® nominations and a 2010 Grammy® Award. He's played at many of the world’s most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the White House, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Tanglewood, Hollywood Bowl, and the Sydney Opera House. For almost 20 years he served as pianist/arranger/collaborator/co-producer for singer Kurt Elling during which time he wrote virtually all of the material on Elling's first ten albums, all of which received Grammy® nominations. |
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