With Fatherhood, the bassist and composer made a conscious decision to step off the fast lane for a moment and make music of introspection and mourning. “I made this record in ways I knew my father would have encouraged” – that meant choosing the best studio, the best musicians, self-funding the entire project, and making wise decisions throughout.  Ben is thrilled to have this record brought to fruition by a collection of both familiar collaborators and young phenoms – the bassist is joined by trumper Giveton Gelin, saxophonists Immanuel Wilkins, Ruben Fox, JD Allen, trombonist Steve Davis, pianists Luis Perdomo and Orrin Evans, vibraphonist Joel Ross and drummer Donald Edwards. As on two previous recording sessions, Ben drafted the Grammy-nominated violinist Jesse Mills to put together a stellar string quartet, which features Mills alongside Goergy Valtchev on violin, Kenji Bunch on viola and Wolfram Koessel on cello. Mindful of his father’s judicious approach to performance, Ben surmises that “this record is about the overall sound of the ensemble.”

Tracklist

1. Blind Seven
2. Gone Now
3. Opener
4. Uncle Leslie
5. The Enforcer
6. It’s True
7. The Kora La
8. First Things First
9. Edged
10. What’s New

All compositions by Ben Wolfe (except for “What’s New”, Bob Haggart)

Reviews

• Fatherhood Review — JazzTimes, J.D Considine
• Ben Wolfe merges classical and jazz on heartfelt fatherhood album – glidemagazine.com
• “It’s a wonderful and expressive tribute to “Fatherhood.” Here is a delightful recording”- LA Jazz Journalist Dee Dee McNeil (Musical Memoirs)
• Fatherhood Review – JazzTrail.net
• Bassist and Composer Ben Wolfe Releases Introspective New Album – BassMagazine.com
• Fatherhood Review — Chicago Jazz Magazine, Hrayr Attarian