Ben Street

Bassist Ben Street is a deeply nuanced performer known for his elegant, yet inventive approach to post-bop and modern creative jazz. Building upon the influence of his early mentor Miroslav Vitous, Street emerged in the '90s and has recorded with artists like Kurt Rosenwinkel, Lage Lund, Danilo Pérez, Sam Rivers, and others. He is also a core member of drummer Billy Hart's quartet, along with saxophonist Mark Turner and pianist Ethan Iverson, and has appeared on ECM albums like 2006's Quartet, 2012's All Our Reasons, 2014's One Is the Other, and 2025's Just. Born in Maine, Street grew up in a musical household the son of noted saxophonist and educator Bill Street. After high school, he attended the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he studied privately with Miroslav Vitous and Dave Holland. He moved to New York in 1991 where he played early on with Frank Carlberg, Ben Monder, and as a member of drummer George Schuller's Orange Then Blue. He also became a regular member of guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel's group and has worked with a bevy of highly regarded performers including Danilo Pérez, Brad Mehldau, Andrew Cyrille, Lage Lund, Sam Rivers, and Lee Konitz, among others. He joined drummer Billy Hart's quartet, playing on their 2006 ECM debut Quartet with bandmates saxophonist Mark Turner and pianist Ethan Iverson. He has contributed to all of their subsequent ECM dates, including 2012's All Our Reasons and 2014's One Is the Other. In 2017, Street and Hart worked together again, this time as the rhythm section on Aaron Parks' sophomore leader date for ECM, 2017's Find the Way. He also joined Hart for two Smoke Sessions trio albums with pianist Kevin Hays: 2021's All Things Are and 2023's Bridges. Just, a fourth Hart quartet date with Iverson and Turner, arrived in early 2025 on ECM. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi