#ben sidran

Ben Sidran Remembers Mose Allison

Mose Allison was a remarkable, singular singer-songwriter and pianist. In 1970, I met Ben Sidran, who’d left the Steve Miller Band to forge his own career as a singer-songwriter-pianist. Ben was very much influenced by Mose. So when I joined Atlantic Records in 1972, I was able to get Ben the liner note assignment for Mose’s upcoming release. They say “never meet your idols,” but Mose and Ben enjoyed a long friendship and occasional working relationship, as I hired Ben to produce Mose’s album when we signed him to Blue Note in 1987. This remembrance by Ben appeared in Jazz Times.

-Michael Cuscuna

Ben Sidran: I Might Be Wrong, in Memory of Mose, Tommy and Clyde

Ben Sidran wrote this exceptional and all-too-true song I Might Be Wrong last year for his just-released album Picture Him Happy, in memory of great friends and artists we've lost including Ben's prime inspiration Mose Allison. Since the album came out, two very close friends and associates, Tommy LiPuma and Clyde Stubblefield, have joined the ranks. As the song goes, "Every time you take a look, there's another dead guy in your address book."

-Michael Cuscuna

Ben Sidran: Picture Him Happy in Madrid

Pianist-singer-songwriter-writer-historian Ben Sidran at the age of 73 has managed to record probably the best album of his career with Picture Him Happy. The title tune and I Might Be Wrong are the centerpieces. Check out this rendering of Picture Him Happy with an intro from a Madrid club.

-Michael Cuscuna