Multi-reed instrumentalist Ben Kono has an active career as performer and educator, both internationally and in his home town of New York City. With degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of North Texas, he has performed and recorded with such notable artists as Michael Brecker, Freddie Hubbard, Toots Thielmanns, Bob Berg, David Liebman, Michel Legrand, and Hugh Jackman, and can be heard on various Broadway cast recordings, including the Grammy-nominated "The Boy From Oz". A veteran of big bands, he completed a year long tour with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and for four years held the lead alto saxophone position in the U.S. Army's premier touring jazz ensemble, The Jazz Ambassadors. In New York, Mr. Kono is a member of the BMI Jazz Composers Orchestra, Numinous, the John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble, the Ed Palermo Big Band, and the La Cage Aux Folles orchestra on Broadway. As an educator, he has been on the music faculties of University of North Texas, Morgan State University, and Queens College. Currently he teaches and coaches ensembles at the Packer Collegiate School in New York City.
 

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