Ben Kono

New York City-based musician Ben Kono’s woodwinds have graced the recordings and  performances of jazz legends Bob Berg, Michael and Randy Brecker, Freddie Hubbard, Wynton  Marsalis, Christian McBride and David Liebman; composers Darcy James Argue, Miho Hazama  and Ted Nash; and superstars Patti Austin, Hugh Jackman and Natalie Cole among others. He  is a member of the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, the BMI Jazz Composers Orchestra, the  Ed Palermo Big Band, Remy Le Boeuf’s Assembly of Shadows, and has held chairs in many  Broadway productions including the eleven-year run of Jersey Boys. As a composer and  bandleader, his own critically acclaimed ensemble The Ben Kono Group is twice recipient of the  Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Grant, and has presented concerts and clinics  throughout the United States. Mr. Kono appears on over a hundred recordings and for his  contributions to these projects he is a Grammy® Award winner. As an educator he has served  on faculties at University of North Texas, Morgan State University, Queens College, City College  of New York, and is currently a teaching artist for the New York Pops Orchestra.