Friendship Trio With Ben Feldman, Jenny Xu & Kofi Shepsu at Seattle Jazz Fellowship

Lyrical bassist Ben Feldman began making a name for himself as a high school aged Chuck Deardorf student in Seattle. He now has been in New York City for five years, earning a degree from the Manhattan School of Music and making a name for himself on the scene there. Now in the Masters program at Julliard, Feldman has grown into an artist on the rise in rapid fashion. Friendship Trio is an equal partnered piano trio that features pianist Jenny Xu and drummer Kofi Shepsu. 

I would describe this version of the traditional jazz piano trio as being, “emotionally unpredictable”– and this is where the fun begins. This characterization might be more closely related to pianist Xu, but there is an underlying honesty and loosely fitting harmony between the three participants. It feels like a conversation between three close friends that nevertheless contains agreements, disagreements, resolutions and celebrations to boot. As SJF attendees recently learned from Feldman’s part in the weekend residency of Xavier Lecouturier, the bassist just continues his meteoric rise in his pursuit of excellence. Xu has played numerous gigs in Seattle, but this performance, in a room dedicated to listening, is perhaps the best opportunity to see her perform in a fertile environment on a good piano. The two night run is as always, an opportunity for a band to dive deep into the music. ...

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Lyrical bassist Ben Feldman began making a name for himself as a high school aged Chuck Deardorf student in Seattle. He now has been in New York City for five years, earning a degree from the Manhattan School of Music and making a name for himself on the scene there. Now in the Masters program at Julliard, Feldman has grown into an artist on the rise in rapid fashion. Friendship Trio is an equal partnered piano trio that features pianist Jenny Xu and drummer Kofi Shepsu. 

I would describe this version of the traditional jazz piano trio as being, “emotionally unpredictable”– and this is where the fun begins. This characterization might be more closely related to pianist Xu, but there is an underlying honesty and loosely fitting harmony between the three participants. It feels like a conversation between three close friends that nevertheless contains agreements, disagreements, resolutions and celebrations to boot. As SJF attendees recently learned from Feldman’s part in the weekend residency of Xavier Lecouturier, the bassist just continues his meteoric rise in his pursuit of excellence. Xu has played numerous gigs in Seattle, but this performance, in a room dedicated to listening, is perhaps the best opportunity to see her perform in a fertile environment on a good piano. The two night run is as always, an opportunity for a band to dive deep into the music. 

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