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About
Bio
I am a banjo player and composer rooted in bluegrass, jazz, and new acoustic music. I have toured with David Grisman, was a founding member of Old School Freight Train, and have recorded for Acoustic Disc, CMH Records, and the Fiddle Masters series. My 2019 debut solo album, Heart Lake, includes twelve original tunes with playful, interactive, and distinctive textures, and features outstanding instrumental work by Duncan Wickel on fiddle, Nick Falk on drums, and Dan Klingsberg on bass. Heart Lake was released on December 17th, 2019 for Blue Hens Music and is available for purchase at Bandcamp.
I am also an ethnomusicologist with research experience in South Asia, and am a professor of music at Warren Wilson College.
Reviews of Heart Lake
"It's a distinctive genre-jumping sound, simple but rarely straight-forward, one that allows each of the players to contribute in subtle yet suggestive ways...Subtlety and complexity coexist within the framework of each of these entries, offering a new musical experience for your ears. Kudos to Krakauer for providing such an intriguing set of songs, one that broadens the bluegrass boundaries while also piercing further parameters in the process." - Bluegrass Today
"The compositions are inventive and the playing is top-notch" - C-VILLE Weekly
Praise for Ben Krakauer
“Ben Krakauer is one of my favorite banjo players and favorite human beings. His banjo playing is incredibly swinging, grooving, and wildly inventive, but always grounded in the best of tradition. He’s got a fertile brain and I love talking to him about all things musical. Check him out right now!”
- Matt Glaser, jazz violinist & Artistic Director of the American Roots Music Program at Berklee College of Music
Praise for Old School Freight Train
"After forty years of recording acoustic music, it's not very often that a new band catches (and keeps) my attention. Old School Freight Train has done that and more. Their finely crafted tunes and innovative arrangements bring creativity, taste and wit to a broad spectrum of contemporary styles - vocal and instrumental, all firmly rooted in many traditions. They are certainly an emerging force to reckon with in today's wide world of acoustic music."
- David Grisman, mandolinist & founder of Dawg music
I am a banjo player and composer rooted in bluegrass, jazz, and new acoustic music. I have toured with David Grisman, was a founding member of Old School Freight Train, and have recorded for Acoustic Disc, CMH Records, and the Fiddle Masters series. My 2019 debut solo album, Heart Lake, includes twelve original tunes with playful, interactive, and distinctive textures, and features outstanding instrumental work by Duncan Wickel on fiddle, Nick Falk on drums, and Dan Klingsberg on bass. Heart Lake was released on December 17th, 2019 for Blue Hens Music and is available for purchase at Bandcamp.
I am also an ethnomusicologist with research experience in South Asia, and am a professor of music at Warren Wilson College.
Reviews of Heart Lake
"It's a distinctive genre-jumping sound, simple but rarely straight-forward, one that allows each of the players to contribute in subtle yet suggestive ways...Subtlety and complexity coexist within the framework of each of these entries, offering a new musical experience for your ears. Kudos to Krakauer for providing such an intriguing set of songs, one that broadens the bluegrass boundaries while also piercing further parameters in the process." - Bluegrass Today
"The compositions are inventive and the playing is top-notch" - C-VILLE Weekly
Praise for Ben Krakauer
“Ben Krakauer is one of my favorite banjo players and favorite human beings. His banjo playing is incredibly swinging, grooving, and wildly inventive, but always grounded in the best of tradition. He’s got a fertile brain and I love talking to him about all things musical. Check him out right now!”
- Matt Glaser, jazz violinist & Artistic Director of the American Roots Music Program at Berklee College of Music
Praise for Old School Freight Train
"After forty years of recording acoustic music, it's not very often that a new band catches (and keeps) my attention. Old School Freight Train has done that and more. Their finely crafted tunes and innovative arrangements bring creativity, taste and wit to a broad spectrum of contemporary styles - vocal and instrumental, all firmly rooted in many traditions. They are certainly an emerging force to reckon with in today's wide world of acoustic music."
- David Grisman, mandolinist & founder of Dawg music
Video
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Duncan Wickel (fiddle)
Nick Falk (drums) Joseph Plowman (bass) Ben Krakauer (banjo) "Other Suns" written by Ben Krakauer Evan Felts Studio, NYC, April 2019 |
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"Ruqiyyah and Andrew's Waltz"
Written by Ben Krakauer Randolph, VT, January 2020 Recorded by Brian Carroll |
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Joe K. Walsh (mandolin)
Dan Klingsberg (bass) Ben Krakauer (banjo) "This One" written by Ben Krakauer Randolph, VT, January 2019 |
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Duncan Wickel (fiddle) Nick Falk (drums) Dan Klingsberg (bass) Ben Krakauer (banjo) "Blues for Grant" written by Ben Krakauer WTJU, Charlottesville, VA, February 2020 |
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Duncan Wickel (fiddle, vocals)
Nick Falk (drums) Dan Klingsberg (bass) Ben Krakauer (banjo) WTJU, Charlottesville, VA, February 2020 |
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Duncan Wickel (fiddle)
Nick Falk (drums) Dan Klingsberg (bass) Ben Krakauer (banjo) "Other Suns" written by Ben Krakauer WTJU, Charlottesville, VA, February 2020 |
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Jody Stecher (fiddle, vocals)
Courtney Hartman (guitar, vocals) Ben Krakauer (banjo) Shasta Music Summit, July 2015 |
