“[He has] that deep, angry sound that you find in Gato Barbieri and Steve Grossman” - Colin Curtis

“With his big Dexter Gordon sound [Powling] not only stayed in the race but won hands down” - Bebop Spoken Here



“Powling mines a rich vein of Coltrane-isms” - London Jazz News

Since graduating Leeds Conservatoire in 2013, tenor saxophonist Ben Powling has performed extensively as a sideman and leader across the UK, Europe and Asia honing a personal style based in a love of 60s jazz, West African musical styles and punk rock. Ben is co-leader and composer of acclaimed “aggro jazz” group Vipertime and is a member of Sam Quintana’s contemporary jazz ensemble Wandering Monster, award winning jazz-punks WorldService Project, Ben Haskins Quarter and Rob Heron & The Tea Pad Orchestra. He has also worked with groups and artists including Melt Yourself Down, Shed Seven, The Sorcerers and K.O.G.

Notable gigs with these groups include Berlin Jazz Festival, London Jazz Festival, Ronnie Scotts, Isle of Wight Festival, NH7 Festival Pune, Goa Jazz Festival, Cork Jazz Festival, International Jazz Festival Saalfelden, Manchester Jazz Festival, Latitude Festival, Greenman Festival and Wilderness Festival. His music has been featured on BBC 6 Music, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and Worldwide FM. In 2019 his group Mansion of Snakes were winners of the PRS For Music Emerging Artists Fund and in 2024 Vipertime were selected for the Jazz North ‘Northern Line’ funding scheme.

As well as performing, Ben has made a committed effort to building and nurturing the Leeds jazz scene. In 2018 he and venue owner Jack Simpson curated and released To Be Here Now, a vinyl and digital compilation of Leeds jazz released on their label HPBC Records. The LP was featured by Gilles Peterson on his BBC 6 Music UK Jazz special along with an interview with Ben.