DENVER, COLO. (5/8/08) -- On Friday, June 6 at 8 p.m. Swallow Hill is pleased to have treasured community member Ben Senterfit back to Denver for a special performance with The Lovely and Talented, headed up by Swallow Hill faculty member JT Nolan.

Saxophonist/guitarist/vocalist Ben Senterfit first tasted success with the a cappella group The Wayfarers in the late 1980s. He had an opportunity to perform in New York City with The legendary Persuasions, at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival with Sam Bush, & Bela Fleck, and with the Cleo Parker Robinson dance troupe.

In the early 1990s, Ben helped to form hard-edged funk act Chitlin with compatriot Javier Gonzalez before touring nationally with funk-rock band Zuba. In 1996 he began performing improvisational sessions with DJ Timbuk and fellow musicians which would later prove to be the building blocks of The United Dope Front.

Since the early 1990s, Ben has recorded and released seven full-length releases and been a session musician on more than a dozen other recordings. He has performed and opened for such acts as Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Maceo Parker, Spearhead, and Medeski, Martin and Wood. In 2000 he released a debut solo effort called Soulwave, which includes many of the musicians found within the CueZone Records Collective.

This year Ben is releasing his second solo effort due out this summer while finishing up a CueZone release called The Dirty Boogaloo with CueZone co-owner Jarad Astin. Senterfit recently relocated to New York from the Denver area. In addition to his performance, he will be conducting two workshops at Swallow Hill during his stay in Denver: A Songwriter's Intensive on Saturday the 7th at 11:30 a.m. and on Sunday the 8th at noon, and an A Capella Workshop on Saturday the 7th at 3 p.m. and on Sunday the 8th at 2 p.m.

The Lovely and Talented is the creation of singer/guitarist JT Nolan. Joined by singer/viola player Robin Hoch, drummer/keyboardist Paul Mullikin, and electric bassist Matt Skellenger, The Lovelies fuse international influences of sambas, boleros, Gypsy swing, and tap dancing to American folk music. The end result has been described as unclassifiable, sophisticated porch music. Their self-titled debut was released in 2006 to critical acclaim.