Hey, welcome to the SBL podcast. Okay, so usually it's Scott and Ian. But today, I am joined by

Ben Williams Grammy Award winning, upright and electric bassist, composer, singer, bandleader,

and producer who's to work, who has worked with legends like Pat Mathini, George Benson,

Jose James, David Sanborn, Lauren Hill, Witt,

Marsalis, Robert Glasper. Check out that name drop list. It's so amazing. He's won countless

awards and honors put out three full-length records of his own that combine traditional jazz

roots with more modern Neo-Soul vibes, echoing the Soul quarian pioneers dilla the roots erika badu

he has a brand new project with cindy winters called butterfly black and we're going to get into

all of it today i'm so excited to be here with him ben man thank you so much for joining me man

thank you for having me. Yeah, dude.

I want to take it back to 2011.

So if you'll allow me to go back to your first record, I push play on home, right,

which is the first track on State of Art, and I'm greeted with this impeccable execution

and respect of straight time.

I sort of think that, like, as electric bass players, that group of people can be skeptical

of a traditional jazz, upright bass player, like with a swing feel, maybe having less experience

and respect around the straight grid.

And I didn't get that from you at all. Like right away,

I was like, oh, like straight grid is crushing. And so I just wonder, like, if you could speak

to that a little bit and tell us what contributes to this, like, brilliant aspect of your playing.

Wow. Well, thank you. First of first of all um you know i i i just like to say i'm a

you know i'm a just a fan i'm a connoisseur of music um and you know i've i've always been like that

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