Ben Lamar Gay

Ben LaMar Gay is a cornetist, composer, singer and producer from the South Side of Chicago. He grew up under the influence of the AACM and played in the city's jazz, hip hop, house, rock and Latin scenes before spending several years in Brazil. His records for International Anthem mix cornet, voice, electronics and percussion with ideas from jazz, Brazilian music and song. Gay returned to Chicago in the early 2010s and over about seven years made music of his own, which he drew on for his debut album Downtown Castles Can Never Block The Sun (International Anthem, 2018).