Ben Lerner Quartet

Event description

Ben Lerner is an outstanding young artist who has quickly established himself as one of the emerging voices in Jazz and on the Alto Saxophone in Australia. Since moving to Sydney from Auckland in 2020, Ben has received the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Scholarship the Henderson Global Mobility Scholarship, the Ernest Heine Family Foundation Scholarship, and has played with the likes of Mike Nock, Matt McMahon, Laurence Pike, Steve Barry, Andy Gander, Jonathan Crayford, and many other greats. He was a finalist for the prestigious National Jazz Award in 2024.

Ben has honed his craft under the tutelage of artists such as George Garzone, Immanuel Wilkins, Dr Roger Manins, Will Vinson, Dr Simon Barker, Dr Jo Lawry and many more. After forming the Ben Lerner Quartet in early 2021 as an outlet to workshop and perform his original compositions, Ben has quickly found his feet as a band leader. This has culminated in performing as a part of SIMA’s Jazz:NOW summer festival, the Inner West Jazz Fest, a tour of New Zealand, a tour of the East Coast of NSW/QLD, a tour of the South Coast of NSW/VIC, and various appearances in venues around Sydney. Ben performs frequently as a freelancing musician around Sydney, and is an in demand sideman. He is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and is set to begin a Masters Degree on a scholarship at the esteemed Manhattan School of Music in September 2025. His South Coast Tour of 2025 anticipates the recording and release of his debut album as a bandleader with ABC Jazz.

The Ben Lerner Quartet features Steve Barry (Piano), Max Alduca (Double Bass) and Alex Young (Drums), and plays a selection of Ben’s original compositions.