Muslin Dreams starts with Vic Fontaine and ends with a mature understanding of Jazz. It was a long and musical road and it didn’t always seem like we’d get to here. There was a brief pit stop in heavy metal that seems like another dream, long past.
Benjamin’s infatuation with Jazz began in his 8th grade of schooling, watching the later seasons of a Star Trek series. There was a character named Vic and Vic was a crooner. The few episodes with him were enough to foster a love of cocktail Jazz.
Move forward several years and a meeting with a lovely lady named Amber. Not very long after they met, her singing and his guitar playing joined forces and they created original, epic music. Benjamin authored dozens of songs and together they entertained a variety of audiences.
But there was always the Jazz. The desire to play Jazz, the enjoyment of listening to Jazz. It simmered over the years but always grew. Then, one night, at an open mic, Benjamin was playing an instrumental Blues set. Halfway through he looked out across the audience and saw Amber listening. Tapping her fingers and toes. He thought, “We can do this.”
After the Blues set, Benjamin walked back to the table, put away his guitar and sat down next to Amber. He smiled and said, “We can do this.” Her expression indicated that she was thinking the very same thing.
The following open mic night Amber and Benjamin got up, for the first time in nearly twenty years, as a band, and performed for a very receptive audience. After that show, Muslin Dreams was a thing.
Amber
Most people who know me would say that I’m the humble and quiet one, not known to interact much with strangers or carry on a long conversation. So when I mention that I enjoy singing jazz standards at the local open mic nights, I’m often met with joyful surprise.
I am not classically trained and I never participated in my high school choir. But I do enjoy how favorable the acoustics are in just about any vehicle where I will perform my own version of Klingon opera, or croon away with Vic Fontaine on the dim stage of a 1960’s jazz lounge.
It is true I am reserved. I may not frolic around a stage, but I can hold your attention all the same. A very dear old friend and producer taught me long ago to chin up and sing out, a most treasured piece of advice. Don’t hold back- stand up tall and really sing, loud and proud.
Best of all, my voice has been likened to smooth and buttery caramel. As a sweets girl, I’ll take that! I enjoy sharing my rendition of old classics with anyone who wants to stop and listen to the approachable, (mostly) innocent tunes of simpler days.
Benjamin
What makes a musician? Someone who shares music. What makes a performer? Someone who shares musicianship. At a fundamental level, I’m a performer. I enjoy entertaining people. But, I didn’t used to. Let’s just say I didn’t perform well at my first piano recital. But things all changed when I found the guitar.
I started out life playing the piano. I liked it, I was competent and it taught me a lot of theory. But, by middle school I was growing bored with it. It just so happened that in that year’s music class, there was a module where we learned to play the guitar. The guitar had always intimidated me and so I was nervous, but …
Well, the guitar and I are best friends now. And with my theoretical knowledge from the piano world I have been able to create something of a folk technique to Jazz harmonies while comping for an incredibly apt torch singer. She can sing Blue Moon to my backing riffs equally as well as she can to any big band.
So, who am I? A musician, a performer, an entertainer.
