About 

Ben Slater grew up in San Francisco and returned to the city after some time on the East Coast and New Orleans. He has been the musical director of Mean to Me Jazz Band since 2013. Ben has performed regularly at venues throughout San Francisco like Red Poppy Art House, Mr. Tipple's Recording Studio, Bird & Beckett Books & Records, Blush Wine Bar, Amado's, Curio, and Revolution Cafe.

Ben composes original music, arranges jazz standards, and performs on both piano and tenor saxophone. His formative influences on piano were the lively, rhythm-centered approaches of Ahmad Jamal, Erroll Garner, Duke Ellington, and Thelonious Monk. On sax, he has absorbed the lyricism of Wayne Shorter and Lester Young.