An innovative percussionist who directs ensembles and supports others with equal agility, Ben Perowsky traverses jazz, experimental music, and progressive rock without stylistic constraint. A fixture in New York since the 1980s, he has performed alongside John Zorn, Uri Caine, Rickie Lee Jones, and Iggy Pop, among many others. His own releases frequently feature saxophonist/clarinetist Chris Speed, notably on the 2009 album Esopus Opus and the 2019 recording Upstream that also includes John Medeski.
Born in 1966 and raised in New York City, Perowsky entered a musical home as the son of jazz saxophonist Frank Perowsky. During his teenage years he drummed in his father’s group, later refining his technique at Berklee College of Music in Boston under Alan Dawson. After returning to New York he became sought after by an array of artists that encompassed Rickie Lee Jones, Roy Ayers, John Cale, and James Moody. In the mid-’80s he joined the Lounge Lizards and helped establish the experimental fusion outfit Lost Tribe. Beyond jazz he has contributed to projects by Elysian Fields, Liminal, Joan as Policewoman, and additional collaborators.
Leading his own trio, Perowsky released the self-titled Ben Perowsky Trio in 1999 with Chris Speed and bassist Scott Colley. Two years later he recorded Bop on Pop alongside his father Frank Perowsky and organist Sam Yahel. In 2003 Tzadik Records issued Camp Songs, which featured pianist Uri Caine and bassist Drew Gress; the project revisited prayer melodies Perowsky first encountered at a summer camp in Upstate New York. Further work during this period involved Josh Roseman, Trey Anastasio, John Zorn, and Loudon Wainwright III.
Perowsky introduced his quartet—Speed, Gress, and accordionist Ted Reichman—on 2009’s Esopus Opus. Concurrently he sustained his partnership with John Zorn and appeared on recordings by Iggy Pop, Hercules & Love Affair, and Steven Bernstein. The 2019 album Upstream highlighted the long-running organ trio completed by John Medeski and reedist Speed.
