Benjamin Furman Vernon is a pianist, singer and composer born in Santiago, Chile. His original music reflects the sounds he was brought up with, combining elements from the traditions of Jazz, South American Folklore, Klezmer, Tango and Middle Eastern traditions. He graduated from the prestigious Berklee College of Music with a degree in Piano Performance and a minor in Composition. Benjamin works as an internationally performing and recording musician, visual media composer, and music educator.
Benjamin has performed in stages around the world, including performances in South America (Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia), New York, Boston, Middle East (Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait), Canada and other locations. He performed in “Festival Internacional Jazz a la Calle” (Uruguay), "Jazz Composer Series" (Montreal), “Festival Internacional Jazz Lebu” (Chile), “Boston Green Fest”, "Dar al Athar" (Kuwait) and many more. He collaborates with renowned musicians such as Tsidii Le Loka (“The Lion King”), Tali Rubinstein, Paz Court, Benjamin Walker, Marta Botía (“Ella Baila Sola”), Yousif Yaseen, Yotam Ben-Or and others. He is an active performer in the NYC scene, with presentations in some of the major musical venues of the city.
His composition "Felina" won the first prize in the 2016 USA Songwriting Competition. As a sideman he has collaborated in various discographic works including "Visions" by Yousif Yaseen, “Ocean Avenue” by Juana Luna and "Embracing Clarity" by Juan Dhas.
Benjamin also is a composer and producer for film and visual media.
TESTIMONIALS
"He has a huge passion and dedication for music, specially from the South American tradition. The musical material he has produced, both in his Project as well as a collaborator, is of a very high standard. I believe that he will become an important voice of the South American song"
- Fernando Huergo (bassist, composer, professor at Berklee College of Music)
"He is a very dedicated and talented musician. While being a very good jazz pianist, his interests expand to song, voice, film and South American music. His music is varied, new and beautiful, interweaving rhythms from all of the South Cone. Without a doubt he stuck out in Berklee as a member of a new wave of emerging South American musicians that will grow tobe a big contribution to our music"
- Nando Michelin (pianist, composer, professor at Berklee College of Music)