Ben Sidran

★★★★ Ben There, Done That – Ben Sidran Live Around The World (1975-2015)

SUNSET BLVD. CD Limited edition collection of hipster polymath’s in-concert performances.

Though he did sessions with Clapton and the Stones and was briefly a member of the Steve Miller Band – co-writing their classic ’69 tune, Space Cowboy – Ben Sidran was a pianist whose musical sensibilities were often too syncopated for rock’n’roll. Instead, he forged a solo career that combined a singer/ songwriter aesthetic with jazz-funk grooves, a bebop attitude, and Mose Allisoninfluenced wordplay. Still going strong at 75, Sidran now casts an eye back on the large cache of live recordings in his archives, which span 40 years, charting his evolution as a stage performer. While the ’70s live material is taut, driven by fiery youthful vigour, Sidran’s later performances are more measured and relaxed but no less effective. Copious highlights include NY State Of Mind, which Sidran recorded before its writer, Billy Joel.