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HRH Mag - May 2024

NewEARS Prog Show #352

British Prog Keyboardist Benjamin Croft To Release New Single “Wrestling With Plato” From Forthcoming Album “We Are Here To Help”

By Glass Onyon PR

For Immediate Release

British Prog Keyboardist Benjamin Croft To Release New Single “Wrestling With Plato” From Forthcoming Album “We Are Here To Help”

New Album Featuring Simon Phillips, Marco Minnemann, Billy Sheehan, Stu Hamm, Jeff Scott Soto, Greg Howe, Mike Stern and Frank Gambale!

Benjamin Croft is a British Prog keyboardist, music producer and songwriter. He will be releasing his new single “Wrestling With Plato” on February 2nd. The song features Lynsey Ward (Exploring Birdsong) on vocals and virtuoso drummer Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats).

“Wrestling with Plato” is a tragic love story told over the lifetime of two people. A song about elaborate excuses; in the case of our protagonists, these are far reaching…

From a very young age, Benjamin developed a strong interest for music. At the age of 7, Benjamin began piano and trumpet lessons. “Around age 17, my life was forever changed after hearing the album ‘Close to the Edge’ by the band Yes. I quickly developed a love for progressive rock. Keyboard players such as Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson inspired me to practice for up to 8 hours a day,” says Croft.

At 19, he won a scholarship at Leeds College of Music. After graduating, he completed several contracts on international cruise lines, travelling and performing. He lived and played in the US, and toured the world twice, working with artists as diverse as Belinda Carlisle, Leslie Garrett, The Temptations and The Platters. “One night I was playing country, the next musical theatre and then jazz or rock.”

Benjamin relocated to London in 2012 and quickly began to make a name for himself. In 2018, he recorded for Beautiful South founder Dave Hemingway’s latest project ‘Sunbirds,’ and worked as a session musician, composer and arranger. He recently joined the progressive rock band The Gift.

While keeping up with a busy schedule performing and recording, Benjamin started composing his own music and released his first album “10 Reasons To…” on 33Jazz Records in March 2019. 12 original compositions blending jazz fusion, classical and progressive rock.

His second album, “Far and Distant Things,” was recorded throughout 2020 and released in the summer of 2021 on Ubuntu Music. It features some prestigious guest musicians such as Randy Brecker, Allen Vizzutti, Frank Gambale, Barry Finnerty, Mike Miller, and Chad Wackerman.

Both albums have been critically acclaimed in the UK, US and Europe.

Benjamin spent the last 2 years making his latest album, “We Are Here To Help,”. “It has been a great honour to record with legendary musicians including Simon Phillips, Marco Minnemann, Billy Sheehan, Stu Hamm, Jeff Scott Soto, Greg Howe, Mike Stern and Frank Gambale.”

“We Are Here To Help “ is an epic project with a heavier blend of progressive rock and metal, pushing further the boundaries of creativity, musical mastery and sonic excellence. The album also marks the launch of his record label “Galactic Receiver”. It is due for release in 2024.

“Benjamin Croft is a force to be reckoned with, and I can’t wait to hear what he comes up with next.” – Sea of Tranquility

“Wrestling With Plato”


Produced, written and arranged by Benjamin Croft
Lyrics by Marsha Swanson
Lynsey Ward – Vocals
Benjamin Croft – Keyboards
Per Nilsson – Guitar
Dave Marks – Bass Guitar, Additional Guitars and Percussion
Marco Minnemann – Drums
Recorded at:
Sleeper Sounds
Engineer – Marcus Locock
Greystoke Studio
Engineer – Andy Whitmore
Mixed by Stephen W Tayler at Millside, Real World Studios
Mastered by Barry Grint At AIR Studios, London
Art Direction, illustration and design by Hugh Syme
Music video directed by Sam Chegini
A selection of analog keyboards have been used on this track including Yamaha CS-80, Roland Jupiter 8, Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, Oberheim ob-xa, Mellotron M4000, Hammond Organ and Steinway.

To pre-order: https://orcd.co/wrestlingwithplato

For more information:
Website: https://www.benjamincroftmusic.com/
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/BenjaminCroftMusic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BenjaminCroftMusic
Instagram: https://instagram.com/benjamincroftmusic?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@benjamincroftmusic8126?si=vPQwYyHhEPJOAoNY
TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeVaKVED/

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 1-828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

FAR AND DISTANT THINGS - THE REVIEWS

  • Prog Magazine "Far And Distant Things puts a contemporary spin on the genre and sounds terrific with a crisp, revealing production."

  • Matt Derraugh ’‘shining example of sonic craftsmanship’’ RATING: 5/5

  • Progressive Rock Central ‘‘Far And Distant Things is clearly one of my top progressive albums of 2021.’’

  • At The Barrier ‘This is without doubt, a must own album for 2021, that pushes forward the creative possibilities of jazz fusion.’’

  • Gary “Uncle G” Brown ‘‘I strongly recommend having it in one’s own personal music collection, “Uncle G” rates Benjamin Croft – Far And Distant Things…5 stars!!!

  • Progarchy "The music is exceptionally well-written and equally well-performed"

  • Sea Of Tranquility:"Benjamin Croft is a force to be reckoned with, and I can't wait to hear what he comes up with next. Do not miss Far and Distant Things folks!". Watch Pete Pardo‘s video review on YouTube

  • Bebop Spoken Here: “There’s only two types of music, good and bad.' Far and Distant Things is amongst the good stuff."

  • Jazz Views "an epically scaled, all guns blazing affair"

  • Jazzwise: "fast moving, highly virtuosic set"

  • Jazz Journal: ‘‘Original and clever’’ 4.5 stars

  • Sound Magnet ‘‘An absolute recommendation to all fans of the genre, a 9/10 from me’’

  • UK Vibe: ‘‘This album is a must-listen’’

  • ProgLoop: ‘‘an album that stands out amongst new releases.’’

PROG MAGAZINE ISSUE 125

INTERVIEW WITH JAZZ JOURNAL

Benjamin Croft: return to the future

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Croft is that rarity, a young musician happy to develop the forward looking fusion style prematurely purged by establishment critics two or three decades ago.

By Trevor Hodgett-24 September 2021

“I would describe it as prog rock/jazz fusion,” asserts keyboard player Benjamin Croft of his new album Far And Distant Things. “There are so many kinds of music I’m influenced by: obviously jazz greats like Miles Davis and Chick Corea but also bands like Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, singers like Kate Bush and classical composers like Shostakovich, Bartok and Bach. The album’s everything I’ve heard in my life, really. I don’t decide to write like that: that’s just how it comes out.”

The musicianship on the album is wonderful with contributions from British players such as trumpeter Andy Davies and flautist Gareth Lockrane and Americans including trumpeter Randy Brecker, one-time Miles Davis guitarist Barry Finnerty and former Chick Corea sidemen such as guitarist Mike Miller and trumpeter Allen Vizzutti. How, I ask, did he manage to persuade such luminaries to work with him?

“On the previous album [2019’s 10 Reasons To …] I said to people: ‘Can you play in the style of … ?’ This time I thought: ‘Why not just avoid that step and get the people I asked the musicians on the first album to play like?’’

“I asked [ex-Chick Corea Elektric Band and Return To Forever guitarist] Frank Gambale first, and he said: ‘Yeah.’ So I thought: ‘Well, I’ll try my luck again.’ I tried Randy and one by one all these people agreed to do it. It’s a three-part process: I sent them my first album – and they loved the music. Then they want to see the charts of the [new] music. Then they want to hear a demo of it so it’s a bit stressful and nerve-wracking. But it all worked out. I would send over tracks and they would send their parts back and then I’d go back in the studio and re-record to match their parts. So it’s quite a long process.’’


Croft composed the music to suit the styles of the musicians.

“I was writing for them but the whole idea of asking them was that they add their own personality and [when] I got the tracks back it was exactly what I wanted.”

A couple of tracks, including the opening Overture, feature Helen Vollam, principal trombonist with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. “The track is almost classical in nature,” explains Croft. “I wanted someone who had a really great sound and didn’t need to be improvising and the classical with the jazz and rock sets the tone for what’s to come on the album.”

Croft’s own solos are improvised. “It never works if you try and work these things out,” he says. “You have to keep it spontaneous.”

Croft actually plays 17 different keyboards on the album, many of them vintage synthesisers like the Prophet-5 and the ARP Odyssey. “When you have a newer synth that’s completely in tune all the time you remove the quirkiness [but] older synths are unpredictable, almost like real instruments,” he argues.

“You have to stop and tune them. [Or] you might play a chord and get an unexpected sound which leads you to create something new.”

Curiously, in the liner notes, Croft declares: “No melodicas were used at any point in the recording of this album!” So what’s his problem with melodicas? What did they ever do to him? “I hate the instrument! It sounds like a toy. A cheap toy. Sorry to all the melodica fans out there but you’ll never be hearing a melodica on any of my albums!”

‘A lot of people just go to the piano and wait for something but I don’t. I always come up with a title [which] inspires a concept and then I go for a walk and write the piece in my head’

The titles of several tracks, like The War Against Loudness and How Not To Win The Nobel Peace Prize are amusing. “A lot of people just go to the piano and wait for something but I don’t,” Croft explains of his composing.

“I always come up with a title [which] inspires a concept and then I go for a walk and write the piece in my head and come back and then sit at the piano and start writing.”

Croft used the title of the track Far And Distant Things for the title of the album. “That’s what the album’s about, geographically and metaphysically,” he says. “It’s about concepts which may or may not exist, that could happen in the future or could be in the far past, about places that are far distant.”

Croft studied at Leeds College Of Music. Despite the current ubiquity of jazz education some old-timers even now lament the passing of the days when musicians learnt on the bandstand. Croft, surprisingly, agrees with them. “I don’t think you can really be taught jazz because it’s all about finding your own voice and you develop that by playing with other people. Music colleges are places to network but the best way to learn is playing gigs. Definitely.”

After graduating, Croft worked on cruise ships. “I played in the house band. You’ve got to be a good sight-reader and play lots of different styles – you might be playing an Elvis Presley tribute one night or some opera or a Broadway-style musical – so maybe that influenced me with the different styles on the album. But you can’t be yourself doing that so it’s something you can only do for a short time or you’ll start pulling your hair out!”

Later Croft worked in America. “Because these were American cruise liners all the musicians were American. I was the only English person. So, just like music college, it was a place to network and I met great people. And it seemed a natural progression to go and play with those people in the States. I went thinking ‘I’ll be there a few months’ and ended up there on and off for 10 years: the Chicago area, then the West Coast, a bit of time in New York, Tennessee – all over the place, mainly playing jazz but many other styles as well: country, heavy rock, Broadway-style shows . . . and everything I’ve played comes out when I write. It’s all influenced me. Croft returned to the UK and in 2019 released his first album, 10 Reasons To …Reviewers eagerly compared his music to that of prog bands, obscure and celebrated, like Egg, Caravan and National Health. Was he actually aware of such bands himself? “They were before my time, but yes. My parents’ record collection led me to listen to them. Yes’s Close To The Edge sparked my interest in that genre and from that I listened to everything else.”

Few genres have ever fallen as quickly and as far out of fashion as prog did in the late 70s. But one of the tracks on 10 Reasons To …, T.T.E. (Time, Talent And Electricity), is dedicated to Keith Emerson, keyboard player of the often critically reviled Emerson, Lake & Palmer. “Although that band is labelled prog there are elements of jazz, classical . . . everything, really. I’ve always been in awe of Keith Emerson. Anyone that can play Maple Leaf Rag or a piano concerto in front of 80,000 people, I have respect for!”

Croft’s music has also been compared to that of Return To Forever. “Chick Corea’s a huge influence and certainly Romantic Warrior [1976],” he acknowledges. “And that album was compared to Emerson, Lake & Palmer so these things cross-pollinate. Through the 70s those bands were hand in-hand.”

Kate Bush is a more surprising influence on Croft. “She’s probably the only person who can make me cry, laugh, smile, everything, in the space of a song. I really respect her artistry and she’s so musical. The lyrics are not the usual love songs, they’re unpredictable, and everything she does is perfection. If I had to make a list of who I’d want to work with, I would put her at the top.

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JAZZWISE

BENJAMIN CROFT

TAKES 5

LISTEN TO JLR INTERVIEW SERIES WITH BENJAMIN CROFT HERE

 10 REASONS TO…. THE REVIEWS

  • The Jazz Mann ‘‘ An impressive solo debut ’’ ✰✰✰✰

  • All About Jazz ✰✰✰✰

  • Jazz Views ‘‘ unusual, engaging and highly accomplished release ‘‘

  • Prog Magazine ‘‘Sparkling debut album ’’

  • Bebop Spoken Here ‘‘The musicianship is superb from all quarters ‘‘

  • Jazzwise ‘‘an almost infinite variety of invention’’

  • Jazz Journal ‘‘a great listen from start to finish ‘‘

  • London Jazz News ‘‘Ben and his fellow musicians have taken a lot of risks here and have created something that really stands alone. ‘‘

  • Hi-fi News - Album choice July 2019 ‘an album of sheer enjoyment’