Member Profile

By Johnathon Wildran

To paraphrase from a hipster colloquial phrase tracing back to Puff Daddy’s 1997 hit, “THE BOOK of BENJAMIN” is All about the Benjamin – a fascinating, stylistically eclectic and star-studded audio biopic/never-ending playlist chronicling the extraordinary, multi-faceted nearly half century career of one of contemporary music’s most prolific (yet largely obscure, till now) behind the scenes forces. Developing a freewheeling rep on par with (much better known) legendary session cats and longtime pals Steve Lukather, Mike Landau, Leland Sklar and Dan Huff, the ultimate hyphenate aka “Ben Schultz” has been unstoppable since the moment he jammed with Hendrix at 17, grooved shortly thereafter with Stephen Stills and became joined at the creative hip with famed rock drummer Buddy Miles.

The expansive array of credits on Miles’ mid-70’s opuses More Miles Per Gallon and Bicentennial Gathering of the Tribes offers a hint of Benjamin’s powerhouse contributions to multiple generations of recordings and live performances: producer, composer, engineer, guitars (acoustic, electric, lead and rhythm), sitar, piano, organ, keyboards, synthesizer, percussion, bass. In the 90s, as founder of the Epic Records signed Barefoot Servants, he sang and played guitars (including slide guitar) and mandolin. “THE BOOK of BENJAMIN,” an epic work he describes as his “lifetime project,” also makes a major statement on his proud blues roots – and the reality that the blues is perhaps one of the only true authentically American art forms.

His professional associations over the years form a list of hundreds of jazz, pop and rock greats – from James Brown, Freddie King, the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Big Band and Robert Plant to John Lennon, George Harrison, BB King, Verdine White, Billy Preston and Belinda Carlisle. Yet those are only the foundation of the deeper, much more personal and intimate story told on “THE BOOK of BENJAMIN” and its proposed documentary film/proposed television series 2 Degrees. At heart, it’s about the unique, interactive era of rock n roll history where extended musical families were formed and cultivated (organically and often for life), networking was king and mentorship and apprenticeship were not only valued and treasured but could launch careers of enormous cultural impact.

Benjamin says of “THE BOOK”: “I am not limiting myself...and am following wherever my inspiration and musical scope takes me. We will demonstrate how over time an individual is discovered and how members of the musical family nurture that talent. If there’s one thing I have learned, it’s this: that the power inherent in music is mostly affected by the quality and integrity of the related crafts.”