About
Ben Kinsley
Ben Kinsley is a guitarist, songwriter, and music arranger living in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.
As an arranger, Ben has arranged many contemporary songs for solo guitar, voice and guitar, and for small ensemble. Composers include Tori Amos, Beady Belle, Antonio Jobim, and Kate Bush.
In 2014, Ben recorded a solo guitar collection, “Castles of the White City.” Most of the included songs were very influential in Ben’s musical journey, both in their beauty, and in the connections that came with them.
During the recent “music in the time of Covid” period, Ben and the original engineer of his 1987 and 1991 recording sessions, Gerry Putnam, re-mixed and re-mastered seven of Ben’s original songs into a collection entitled “I Am With Ghosts Now."
Ben presently performs in the duo “Northern Comfort,” with the Canadian singer, Sonia Patenaude.
Northern Comfort
A smooth, distinctive blend of Voice from the Eastern Townships in Quebec, Canada with Classical Guitar from the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.
Formed in 2008 and uniting singer, Sonia Patenaude (Quebec, Canada) and guitarist Ben Kinsley (Vermont, USA), the duet Northern Comfort was a creative outlet performing in local restaurants and bars on both sides of the Canadian border. Ben and Sonia have an extremely diverse repertoire from early bossa nova and songs from the great American songbook, to pop and hip hop.
When Guitars...
"People say the guitar is a limited instrument. It's not limited, it's how you use." -Carlos Barbosa-Lima
From Bach to the Beatles, and from solo piano to orchestra - for centuries guitarists have been interpreting an amazing variety of music to be performed on guitar. On this page are recordings of some of Ben's arrangements for voice and guitar.
Estrada Do Sol
“Estrada do Sol” is the title for a proposed video series featuring musicians from South and Central America, the Caribbean, and the Iberian peninsula. Loosely based on the role that the guitar has played in Latin American culture, the series would have featured live recordings and interviews with Latin American musicians and composers. “Estrada do Sol” was created by Ben Kinsley, Brian MacAward, Gerry Putnam, and Jeff Roos. The original pilot featured the late great Brazilian guitarist Carlos Barbosa-Lima.