New York bassist/composer and bandleader Ben Wolfe’s music has been described as “Mingus and Miles Davis meet Bartok and Bernard Herrmann” (Ben Ratliff – The New York Times). With acclaim by some of the jazz world’s most respected critics, Wolfe continues to produce works that draw top-flight reviews from fans and jazz journalists alike.
Ben’s 2026 release Any Time After Now is a quintet recording of original music featuring Joel Ross, Sullivan Fortner, Chris Lewis, and Aaron Kimmel.
From his liner notes Jeff “Tain” Watts writes “These great artists have come together and made a beautiful thing. It feels like one of those days where everything works. The older I get, I try to allow and enable music to happen, and this is a great example of selfless, almost baroque musicianship.”
From the Nicole Glovers liner notes for Ben’s 2024 release The Understated.
“This record succeeds in bringing Ben’s beautiful music to life through extremely conscientious group playing. Nothing is forced or pushed; everything that needs to be stated is stated.”
There is no doubt that after decades as one of the most sought-after bassists in jazz, performing with top names such as Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., Diana Krall and many others, award-winning composer and bandleader Ben Wolfe is clear about his creative direction…
“Much of the music I’ve composed; particularly the music that includes strings, I think of as chamber music within a jazz context.”
An award-winning composer, Ben is a two-time recipient of Chamber Music America’s New Works: Creation and Presentation Program Grant through the Doris Duke Foundation. First received in 2004, Ben was able to use this funding to compose his extended work “Contradiction: Music for Sextet.” He received the grant the second time in 2020 and composed “Nonet”. Both of these extended works have been recorded for future release. Ben will be recording his “Himalayan Suite” in August of 2026.
Wolfe’s early career included Grammy award-winning, platinum-selling collaborations with both Harry Connick Jr. and Diana Krall, including Harry’s 1988 soundtrack album When Harry Met Sally, and Diana’s 1999 release When I Look in Your Eyes. He appeared alongside both artists on numerous world tours.
Wolfe’s ongoing and close association with Wynton Marsalis; during which Marsalis recorded as a guest on two of his albums, has seen Ben appear on a number of Wynton’s releases, and included a stint in the Wynton Marsalis Septet and membership in the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO), where he performed with jazz luminaries such as Joe Henderson, Doc Cheatham, Jon Hendricks, Harry “Sweets” Edison, and Billy Higgins, among many others.
Ben Wolfe’s full list of recorded original albums as a leader:
• Any Time After Now, Resident Arts Records (2026)
• The Understated, Resident Arts Records (2024)
• Unjust, Resident Arts Records (2023)
• Fatherhood, Resident Arts Records (2019)
• The Whisperer, Posi-Tone (2015)
• From Here I See, MAXJAZZ/Mack Avenue Records (2013)
• Ben Wolfe Quintet: Live at Smalls, SmallsLIVE (2011)
• No Strangers Here, MAXJAZZ/Mack Avenue Records (2008)
• My Kinda Beautiful, Planet Arts Records (2004)
• Murray’s Cadillac, Amosaya Music (2000)
• Bagdad Theater, Mons Records (1997)
• 13 Sketches, Mons Records (1996)
Ben maintains a busy schedule, performing and touring on the international stage. Currently a member of the teaching faculty at The Julliard School in New York City, Ben is helping to shape and mentor the jazz scene’s next generation of outstanding talent.
“Ben Wolfe swings with authority!”– to quote Wynton Marsalis.