Lorin Benedict

Hi there! I’m an improvising vocalist (scat singer, essentially) living in San Francisco. I’m basically trying to expand the role of vocal improvisation in the direction of more, shall I say, structurally involved elements... which is kind of ironic, since I basically don’t really know much in the way of music theory. So maybe this is all kind of silly; you be the judge. I perform frequently in the Bay Area and occasionally other places as well. Mostly I just go to jam sessions and "sit in" with folks, but I also do gigs with two bands I co-lead, both duos: Bleeding Vector (myspace.com/bleedingvector) with guitarist Eric Vogler, and the other with saxophonist Kasey Knudsen. And then I also gig occasionally with others as well, such as saxophone leviathan Howard Wiley. I used to be in a band led by John Schott which was pretty fun. In terms of recordings, I’m on a few things that are currently available: 3 by rapper/producer/composer/writer Malik Ameer: Sanctified (2003), Nothing Better To Do (2006), and The Roseline (2007), a Steve Coleman and 5 Elements recording called Lucidarium, John Schott’s Typical Orchestra CD, and most recently Howard Wiley’s Angola Project album. This last one is quite cool, and is where you can hear me the most... except that I sort of suck on it. Howard sounds great though, as do the others! Anywho, I have very few gigs of my own (I’m trying to learn how to play first, before I embarass myself as a bandleader), but if you’re interested in hearing me live, drop me a line and I’ll be sure to clue you in on when and where I’ll be hanging out, as I sit in with people often, unofficially. And then there’s the gig listing here, though I suspect that it will usually be somewhat barren. Ciao!