Jazz Articles about Ben Monder

About Ben Monder

Album Review

Listening to Zeit Zirkel (Time Circle), German-born and New York-based drummer Christian Finger's sixth album, you might not surmise that he was the leader of this ensemble--unless, that is, you glanced at the album jacket. Yes, Finger is present on every track and he anchors the quintet's reliable rhythm section. And yes, he composed and arranged every one of the session's 13 uniquely personal numbers. On the other hand, he nestles mostly within the woodwork, ceding the lion's ...

Album Review

Christian Finger: Zeit Zirkel

Read "Zeit Zirkel" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
October 1, 2026

Whether German-born, New York based drummer/composer Christian Finger (Lee Konitz, Ron Carter, Donny McCaslin) is well known within this circle or that circle holds no bearing on the shape of things and the highs heard on Zeit Zirkel. Making peace with grief and rooted in resilience, space, and spirit, the music makes its way through our daily distractions and focuses our vision on something much larger than an iPhone. Choosing instead to define grief as something to be ...

Album Review

Phil Haynes: Terra

Read "Terra" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero

by Vincenzo Roggero
July 24, 2026

Un po' a sorpresa, dopo due album tematici avvincenti e di immediata comunicabilità come Return to Electric (Corner Store Jazz, 2025) e Liberty Now! (Corner Store Jazz, 2025) arriva Terra, ancora un album a tema, registrato dal vivo presso la Bucknell University, ma di natura ben diversa. Per l'occasione Phil Haynes, Ben Monder e Peyton Pleninger, si incontrano per la prima volta come gruppo dando vita ad una esecuzione/suite completamente improvvisata. Gli strumenti vanno ben oltre i rispettivi ...

Album Review

Theo Bleckmann: Love and Anger

Read "Love and Anger" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
April 21, 2026

Nella ristretta cerchia dei cantanti jazz maschili Theo Bleckmann s'è distinto per la cifra eclettica che l'ha portato a spaziare in quasi ogni ambito musicale: dagli standard del songbook statunitense alla sperimentazione vocale, dal pop al gospel, dal rock alla classica. Residente a New York dall'età di 23 anni, dopo gli studi di canto jazz in Germania Theo è rapidamente maturato dopo la collaborazione del 1994 con Meredith Monk, con cui ha affinato la tecnica vocale e consolidato l'innata spinta di ...

Album Review

Jerome Sabbagh: Stand Up!

Read "Stand Up!" reviewed by Joshua Weiner

by Joshua Weiner
December 18, 2025

While much great jazz has emerged from one-off encounters among musicians, there is a lot to be said for the synergy of longstanding working bands. The former may provide more spontaneity and produce fireworks, but it can also lead to the occasional dud due to a mismatch in approach. Players in a working band, in contrast, gain a deep knowledge of each other's artistic choices, learn what works and what does not, and--by definition--must be doing something right, since their ...

Album Review

John O'Gallagher: Ancestral

Read "Ancestral" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
November 9, 2025

Saxophonist John O'Gallagher keeps moving east in his search for musical expression. Born in Anaheim, California, before relocating to New York City and living there for thirty years, he finds himself (in 2025) in Lisbon, Portugal. He boasts a played with/recorded with resume to knock the proverbial socks off (Joe Henderson, Tony Malaby, Maria Schneider, Kenny Wheeler, and more). He also dived John Coltrane's late period explorations--Interstellar Space (Impulse!, 1974) and Stellar Regions (Impulse Records, 1967), From this Coltrane-ian immersion, ...

Album Review

Donny McCaslin: Lullaby for the Lost

Read "Lullaby for the Lost" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
September 11, 2025

Saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his band's collaboration on David Bowie's final album Blackstar (ISO Records, 2016) marked a pivotal moment in McCaslin's career. Following Bowie's death just two days after the album's release, McCaslin transitioned from being a well-respected jazz musician to achieving international recognition. His band's innovative contributions helped make Bowie's final album a critically acclaimed late-career highlight. Since then, McCaslin's brand of innovative, contemporary jazz fusion has continued breaking through barriers to define a distinctive sound ...