Ben Ferris Octet

Ben Ferris is a Bassist and Educator from Madison, WI. A student of NEA Jazz Master Richard Davis, he graduated with a music-education degree from UW-Madison in 2013. Ben performs regularly in the midwest, especially with the Ben Ferris Trio, a creative music ensemble that focuses on new compositions by musicians in the band. His group the Ben Ferris Quintet released their debut album, “Home” in 2016 featuring original compositions by Ben and other members of the ensemble. A self-release, it is available exclusively on CD and Bandcamp. He also leads the Ben Ferris Octet, a group that plays a diverse selection of jazz repertoire. Ben also competed as a finalist in the 2017 International Society of Bassists Jazz Performance competition.Ben plays and writes music for “Mr Chair,” a contemporary ensemble of electronic trombone (Mark Hetzler), keyboard (Jason Kutz), percussion (Mike Koszewski) and electronic upright bass. As a sideman Ben performs with Nuggernaut (jazz-funk), The Jon Hoel Trio (original compositions with saxophone led trio), Gabe Burdulis Band (Nashville based original pop/rock music), as well as a number of performances in the classical, jazz, rock and contemporary music scenes. This event is intended for UW-Madison students, faculty, staff, Wisconsin Union members and their guests. Anyone can become a Wisconsin Union member at union.wisc.edu/membership.