Ben Tankard is a former professional basketball player and an American gospel, jazz keyboardist producer, songwriter and author. Ben dropped out of college after one year to play minor league pro basketball in Canada (he also co-owned The Murfreesboro Musicians -a pro team in the World Basketball Association / WBA). He was invited to an NBA camp but was injured and cut. Ben "rebounded" from his basketball injury to become a bestselling popular musician known as the pioneer and Godfather of GospelJazz music. He is also a motivational speaker for the NBA, Suit designer (Big & Tall), Pastor, Record Label President, Aircraft Pilot/Owner, and Reality TV Actor with his own new show on Bravo - "Thicker Than Water : The Tankards". Tankard was nominated for three Gospel Music Dove Awards. This marks first time in Dove Award history that an Instrumentalist has been nominated for this many categories. The categories included : Contemporary Gospel/Urban Song of the Year, Contemporary Gospel/Urban Album of the Year, and Instrumental Album of the Year.