Ben died of cancer March 29, 2002, at home in Berkeley, CA, survived by his wife, Eleanor Kathleen Lindgren and son, Esten Sigfrid Lindgren.  (Thank you to classmate Joy Lloyd (Bottinelli) for letting us know.)

Excerpts from a memorial website at http://benlindgren.free-jazz.net/:

Double Bassist Ben Lindgren began his career in the late 1960s in a blues band, then in 1972 he began studies with renowned jazz bassist and composer Gary Peacock.  He played in jazz ensembles which featured both scored and improvised music, and he believed in developing new musical forms which push the boundaries of self-expression.

He performed and made two European tours with the Glenn Spearman Double Trio, a group he co-founded, and with whom he recorded two CDs for the prestigious Black Saint label.. He played with innovative saxophonist Charles Gayle and toured with saxophonist John Tchicai in a trio which included drummer/percussionist Spirit. He played with Prince Lasha and Eddie Gale.

His performances included concerts at the Victoriaville Festival Musique, the du Maurier International Jazz Festival in Vancouver B.C., Yoshi’s Jazz House, the Great American Music Hall, Slim’s, the Monterey Jazz Festival, Mills College, the Nickelsdorrf Austria Jazz Festival, and European tours in Zurich, Basel, Cologne, and Munich.

With OPEYE, with whom he played and recorded beginning in 1995, he included piano and National steel guitar in his repertoire in addition to doublebass.

For three years (1987-90), Lindgren was Assistant Music Director at Pacifica radio station KPFA-FM in Berkeley, working with Director and composer Charles Amirkhanian on musical projects that included such distinguished artists as John Cage, Phillip Glass, Laurie Anderson, Brian Eno, and Conlan Nancarrow.

Photo by Eleanor Lindgren.