Benjamin J Shepherd
Benjamin J Shepherd
"These cabinets are the truth!! The sonic clarity of these cabinets is unlike anything I have heard before. The frustration stops now!"
AccuGroove Tri 112L
Born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand, Benjamin became interested in music. He began playing drums at age 5 when his dad bought him a used drum kit. Always enamored with the rhythm section but wanting to play something more melodic, he switched to the bass guitar at 7. Then, at 13, when he was old enough to wield a large instrument, he took up the upright bass.
While at school, Benjamin followed the valuable advice of his music teachers and became involved with the school orchestras, symphonic
bands, and choirs. Soon after, he was asked to perform with New Zealand's top artists.
After high school, Benjamin recorded his album entitled "Double Play," showcasing his upright, electric, and composing skills and the talents of other young musician friends. In 2008, he relocated to Los Angeles,
CA to attend the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) with a major in Jazz Studies. While at CalArts, he studied and was mentored by legendary Bassist Alphonso Johnson. He also studied with Charlie Haden, Darek Oles, Larry Koonse, David Roitstein, Miroslav Tadic, and Joe Labarbera, current faculty at the school.
During his junior year at CalArts, Benjamin auditioned for former American Idol contestant David Archuleta's band. After a successful audition, he began touring with the singer around the Asian continent, performing in front of 20,000-60,000 fans. Although he also started working with former Tower of Power lead singer Ellis Hall during this time, he eventually became his musical director.
Since finishing up at CalArts, Benjamin has become one of the busiest working Bassists in LA, both in the studio and live on stage. He has had the pleasure of working with Weather Forecast, Peter Erskine, David Archuleta, Ellis Hall, Mike Stern, Leni Stern, Lee Ritenour, Patrice Rushen, Harvey Mason, Phil Perry, Kendrick Lamar, School Boy Q, Tae Beast, Mark de Clive-Lowe, Miguel Atwood Ferguson, Mindy Abair, Eric Valentine, Ricardo Silveira, Greg Karukas, Luis Conte, Sonny Emory, Moses Sumney, Kimbra, Low Leaf, Jamire Williams, Mike Keneally, Otmaro Ruiz, John Beasley and much more. In addition, he runs his own two projects; Mr. DanZ, a Jazz Fusion ensemble, and Tech Support, an acoustic Jazz trio.