about Ben Merliss

A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Ben Merliss has utilized his prowess on both acoustic and electric bass to harness an ability to move through multiple genres of music. Originally a pianist, Ben took up the bass out of necessity when a music teacher asked him to join the school orchestra. Ben subsequently played in multiple youth orchestras and jazz bands throughout his adolescence, acquiring knowledge of music history and repertoire that he has continuously put to use. He was accepted into the Peabody Conservatory in 2010 where he studied under internationally acclaimed bassist Michael Formanek. Graduating with a Bachelor's Degree in Jazz Bass performance in 2014, Ben has since performed with several renowned musicians including Robert "Sput" Searight, Walid Ali, Calvin Keyes, Mike Clark, Stefon Harris and Curly and Terrace Martin. While Ben considers jazz to be the foundation of his approach, he takes pride in his ability to span other genres of music including classical, rock, funk, country and show tunes. "Many of the great studio musicians of past eras came from backgrounds in jazz," Ben says, "and I feel that their ability to bring an authentic jazz feeling to their work was what gave the music they played an element of realness that might have otherwise been lacking, and this is what I aspire to in playing as many genres as I can." Ben is also a writer whose subjects include musical and general history, science and philosophy.