His voice is singularly gorgeous CHRISTOPHER LOUDON, JAZZ TIMES Ben Black (he/they), is a Seattle, Washington-based composer and vocalist. His newest release “Mystery and Wonder”, is an album of original material by the artist, and is his second release on the Origin label. He grew up in a military family, in which there were a number of musicians. During a five-year stay in Europe as a child, he had the opportunity to cultivate an appreciation for the musics of different cultures. As he was growing up, his parents exposed him to stellar jazz vocalists and instrumentalists of the times, including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, Sergio Mendes and Brazil ’66, and many of the great Broadway musicals of the 20th century. Ben has been a performer on the Seattle jazz scene since 1985 and spent two years as a music student at Cornish College. His career also spans new opera-theatre, cabaret, and African drumming and dance. He studied jazz improvisation for a number of years with pioneer jazz vocalist, Jay Clayton. Ben’s first album on Origin Records, “Remembered Faces/Private Places”, was released in 2001. Previous to the Origin label, he released “In a Mellow Tone”, on MNOP Records, in 1996. He was a featured guest soloist on the album, “Psyche”, by the Fischer ensemble, in 2011, on the 16 Visions label. Ben splits his time between his music career, dedication to the study and practice of Tibetan and Zen Buddhism, and volunteerism in the LGBTQ+ community.