Ben Flutism

Ben Klein is a dynamic musician whose high intensity performances have led him to regional renown in the Pacific Northwest. His unique style of extreme flute, which he calls Ben Flutism, consistently ignites audiences and gains the respect of fellow musicians. In all of his music, you can hear the multi-cultural influences from his wide range of musical interests including blues, jazz, classical, Indian classical, Celtic, rock, Eastern European, which blend into a richly colored tapestry of sound, indefinable yet strangely familiar. Ben's music is purely instrumental, yet with his deeply emotional expressiveness, through his animated movements and sounds, he communicates intense feelings and vivid imagery that carries his audiences into another world. In addition to playing the flute, Ben plays an unusual instrument called the walkabout bass dulcimer. This instrument, which he has renamed the Moon Guitar, sounds like a 12-string guitar, a sitar, and a mandolin. The Moon Guitar adds a whole new dimension to his performances and recordings with a sound that blends funk, bluegrass, Celtic, and multi-cultural. HISTORY Ben Klein is a self-taught flute player who dedicated his entire focus to the instrument upon graduation from the University of Rochester in 1990. From 1990 to 1993, he practiced and performed with various groups in Flagstaff, AZ where he eventually released his first full-length recording with his brother, Ethan, called 'Bad Craziness'. In 1993 Ben moved to Seattle, WA and began playing open mic nights and jam sessions eventually making his rounds in the R&B circuit with various bands. In 1994, he cofounded a trio of flute, cello and percussion called Trillian Green. This band exploded onto the scene quickly ascending from busking (street-performing) to performing on main stages at major music festivals from Seattle to San Francisco. Trillian Green had a following of thousands of dedicated fans who packed into sold out venues to experience the high energy of their raging shows. Before disbanding in 1998, Trillian Green had released two full-length recordings. In addition to Trillian Green, Ben formed the group Hanuman, a quartet of flute, double bass, acoustic guitar, and percussion. This band rode the wake created by Trillian Green and climbed to regional popularity as well. Among their many performances, their highlight was opening for Jethro Tull at the Gorge in Washington. They released one self-titled recording also on CD, before disbanding in 1998. In 1999, Ben formed yet another trio called BJT (after the first initials of the names of the band members). This band toured and performed during the spring of 1999 and was met with an excited response from the many people who had enjoyed his previous bands and the previous bands of the other members in the group. Ben took this band into the studio and recorded his first solo production recording featuring his compositions and his style of playing flute. This recording 'Ben Flutism' was released in July 1999. Ben left Seattle in the summer of 1999 and moved to Bozeman, MT with his wife Trace in September 1999. Since he's been in Bozeman, he has performed several times, sitting in with both local and traveling bands. RECORDINGS Ben Klein's latest recording 'Ben Flutism' is his first solo production and his finest work to date. This disc was released in June 1999 and features his compositions performed by a trio of flute, double bass and percussion. It was recorded in Bellingham, WA in the studio of the independent label Soundings of the Planet. While with Trillian Green he recorded 'Metamorphoses' on CD and cassette, released in May 1997 and 'Psycho Tantric Ju-Ju Jazz' on CD and cassette released in May 1995. With his acoustic quartet they released the self titled 'Hanuman' CD in April 1997. 'Flows and Rebounds' was released on cassette in May 1995 and features the exciting improvisation with Djembe player Jarrod Kaplan with whom he later played in Trillian Green and Hanuman. 'Bad Craziness' was released on cassette in April 1993. This is an electric rock quartet of flute, electric guitar, electric bass, and drums, based in Flagstaff, AZ. Besides recording with his own bands, he has been featured on countless recordings with other groups in Seattle. In addition to recordings, he wrote a music book called 'The World of Trillian Green' containing the musical notation for the compositions of Trillian Green. This book also includes a detailed history of the band and explains some of it's musical philosophy. He completed this project in the summer of 1998. FESTIVAL PERFORMANCES Major Music Festivals Main Stage Performances: Oregon Country Fair, Eugene, OR 7/97 High Sierra Music Festival, Bear Valley, CA 7/97 Whole Earth Festival, Davis, CA 5/97 Willamette Valley Folk Festival, Eugene, OR 5/97 Earth Day Festival, Bellingham, WA 4/95,4/97,4/99 Bumbershoot Music Festival, Seattle, WA 9/95, 9/97 Folklife Music Festival, Seattle, WA 5/95,5/96,5/97 Other Fairs and Festivals University Street Fair, Seattle, WA Fremont Fair, Seattle, WA Peace Concerts Seattle, WA Cougar Hot Springs Music Festival, Cougar, OR Dexter Lake Shake and Bake Music Festival, Dexter, OR Portland Hemp Festival Seattle Hemp Festival Eugene Barter Fair, Eugene, OR Evergreen Music Festival, at Evergreen State, Olympia, WA Earth Day Festival, Flagstaff, AZ Earth Day Festival, Bozeman, MT Ben Klein has performed on the side stage at all of the major festivals in the years prior to playing main stage.