Panning for Gold


Ben Sollee, 30, is an American cellist, singer-songwriter, and composer known for his innovative playing style, genre-bending songwriting, electrifying performances, political activism, and wide appeal. His music incorporates banjo, guitar, and mandolin along with percussion and unusual cello techniques to create a unique sound. His songs exhibit a mix of folk, bluegrass, jazz, and R&B elements. Sollee has also composed longer instrumental pieces for dance ensembles. Raised in Lexington, Kentucky, Sollee began playing the cello in elementary school. Besides classical music, his early musical influences included recordings his parents played of Wilson PickettRay CharlesBillie Holiday and Otis Redding, and later he discovered folk music. (Source: Wiki)

Find this tune on Sollee’s album here.


Thank you Steve Layman for introducing me to Ben Sollee.  And don’t miss Ben Sollee on Tedx here.


Sun Will Set


See Bio and related post for Zoë Keating here.


My Favorite Things

Leron Zamir Forte


“Leron Zamir Forte is a rising cellist who hails from Dallas, TX. He was the recipient of the Holy Cross BachFest Scholarship, Nashville Symphony Orchestra League Thor Johnson Scholarship Finalist, and was invited to the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. He has performed masterclasses with teachers such as Natalia Koma, YeonJin Kim, Julia Tanner, Eric Kutz, Peter Sheppard, and Yo-Yo Ma. He is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree under Gregory Sauer at the Florida State University.”

Find more about Leron and his music @ his Website, on Facebook, on Twitter.


Related Cello Post: Zoë Keating


Friday Night: Zoë Keating


Zoë Keating, 41, is a Canadian-born cellist and composer based in San Francisco, California. She is a one-woman orchestra. She uses a cello and a foot-controlled laptop to record layer upon layer of cello, creating intricate, haunting and compelling music.  Keating was classically trained from the age of eight.  She obtained a liberal arts degree and then spent her 20’s working in software while moonlighting as a cellist in rock bands. She eventually combined the cello and the computer, developing her signature style of live-layered music while improvising for late night crowds at her Francisco warehouse. She speaks regularly on artist-empowerment, sustainable careers and the concept of artist-as-entrepreneur, has been profiled on NPR’s All Things Considered, named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.   For the last two years, Zoë has been slowly touring North America, young child in tow, to support her latest album,Into the Trees, which spent 49 weeks on the Billboard classical charts, peaking at #7…She is also extremely fond of pancakes and likes to say yes to crazy things… (Source: zoekeating.com)



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