Ben Swan was born into a musical family and began studying classical music under his father at the age of five. Now, more than two decades later, Ben's passion for music has taken him from the depths of the Amazon , to the heights of the Himalaya, and all points in between. Drawing on influences as diverse as rock, jazz, classical, country, and Indian music, Ben's technical prowess and improvisational ideas give him a truly unique and fascinating musical style.
Having studied under several of the world's greatest musicians and educators(Dr. Yusef Lateef, Dr. Karaikudi Subramanian, Julie Lyonn-Lieberman, Will Taylor, Martin Norgaard), Ben has incorporated a variety of innovative concepts into both his playing and pedagogical strategies, the result of which is a truly holistic approach to music.
After spending his youth studying in the Suzuki method and giving solo and orchestral performances, Ben began to experiment with other genres of music during his teenage years. In 1997, he received a scholarship to study at the Brhaddvani Center for Music of the World in Madras, India . Having had this invaluable introduction to South Indian classical music , one of the world's two great improvisational traditions, Ben then made the logical leap into the other one: jazz. In 1999, Ben's training culminated in an acclaimed undergraduate thesis in which he performed self-composed works that combined concepts of classical, jazz, rock, and South Indian music.
Since then, jazz and country/western music have dominated Ben's interests. In 2000 he studied performing and arranging with the Turtle Island String Quartet, and composition and improvisation with Dr. Yusef Lateef. Between '01 and 03, Ben performed throughout South America with The Lima Jazz Quintet and The Benjamin Swan Quartet .
Currently, Ben can be seen performing throughout Texas with Leo Stokes and the Grifters, Texas Old Town and The Fountainhead Trio . He is a registered Suzuki teacher, and has taught dozens of students in Massachusetts , India, South America, and Texas .