Ben Castle
Ben started into his life of music at the age of seven, taking up the clarinet. Having been forced to practise at first, he soon got a flare for it and achieved distinction at Grade 8 by the age of thirteen.
By this time he was also getting to grips with the saxophone and was already playing in local bands. His dad encouraged him a great deal and from an early age gave him the opportunity to perform with him in front of large audiences.
Having already set out into his profession, he left school aged seventeen, and took a year out to practice, before going on to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he completed a one year post graduate course in Jazz and Studio Music.
Ben is now a freelance musician, as well as running his own band. His main love is Jazz, but enjoys many different styles of music. He has made guest appearances with orchestras, big bands, Jazz bands as well as pop and rock groups.
He has performed with and recorded with many people, including Steve Hackett, Kula Shaker, Supergrass, Mica Paris, Brand New Heavies, Damon Albarn, 911, Culture Club, Gloria Gaynor, Embrace, Babybird, Marillion, Omar, 4 Hero, Lalo Schifrin and many of the leading lights of the British Jazz scene, including bands led by Stan Tracey, Tim Garland, Alan Barnes, Don Weller, John Etheridge, Steve Lodder, Matt Wates, Clark Tracey, Mark Nightingale, Spike Robinson, Humphrey Lyttelton, Laurence Cottle, Geoff Gascoyne, Arnie Somogyi, Bobby Worth, Michael Garrick, plus Zappatistas, the Echoes of Ellington and the BBC Big Band.
Among his T.V. appearances, he has featured on Bruce Forsyth's Guest Night, Richard and Judy's This Morning, Pebble Mill, Live + Kicking, as well as being a guest presenter for BBC's Record Breakers.
When Ben is not playing music, he is usually writing it. He has written music for television, for big bands, orchestras, and other performers, as well as for his own group and other projects.
In 1994 he recorded an album with his dad, "Ben and Roy Castle's Big Celebration" and in 1996 released a big band album entitled "Breathe Easy".
2000 saw the release of the new recording with his quartet, "Four From The Madding Crowd". They have just recorded a follow up album, release date unknown.
He has just been voted rising star in the British Jazz Awards 2001, and was nominated for a BBC jazz award.
He is currently working with singer Carleen Anderson on a collaboration project.
Releases:
Ben Castle - Four From The Madding Crowd / 1997 GR-027
Official Ben Castle homepage: www.bencastle.com
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