Ben Monder

A musician in the New York City area for over 30 years, Ben Monder has performed with a wide variety of artists, including Jack McDuff, Marc Johnson, Lee Konitz, Billy Childs, Andrew Cyrille, George Garzone, Paul Motian, Maria Schneider, and Marshall Crenshaw. He also contributed guitar parts to the last David Bowie album, "Blackstar". Ben conducts clinics and workshops around the world, and has served on the faculties of the New England Conservatory, NYU and the New School. He was the recipient of a Doris Duke Impact Award in 2014, and a Shifting Foundation grant in 2013. Ben continues to perform original music internationally in solo and trio settings, and in a long standing duo project with vocalist Theo Bleckmann. He has appeared on over 200 CDs as a sideman, and has released 6 as a leader: Amorphae (ECM, 2015), Hydra (Sunnyside, 2013), Oceana (Sunnyside, 2005), Excavation (Arabesque, 2000), Dust (Arabesque, 1997), and Flux (Songlines,1995).

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 ...

Album Review

Ingrid Laubrock: Purposing the Air

Read "Purposing the Air" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero

by Vincenzo Roggero
July 29, 2025

Avventuroso e ambizioso Purposing the Air, nuovo progetto di Ingrid Laubrock, notevole sassofonista di origini tedesche qui nelle vesti di compositrice. Dal poema “Mood Librarian -a poem in koan" di Erica Hunt, ha estratto sessanta frammenti, trenta nel primo CD e trenta nel secondo, affidandoli a quattro duo dove l'elemento fisso è la voce mentre la strumentazione si distribuisce tra violoncello, pianoforte, chitarra elettrica e violino. I sessanta frammenti-miniature-koan, alcuni di due sole parole, riportati nel dettagliato libretto interno, risuonano ...

Album Review

Phil Haynes / Ben Monder: Transition (s)

Read "Transition (s)" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
May 1, 2025

The call of the electric guitar has enticed drummer Phil Haynes to revisit his early passion for the instrument. Two albums have resulted: Return to Electric (review here), and now Transition (s), both on Corner Store Records. The former is a trio album that has Haynes teamed with guitarist Steve Salerno and bassist Drew Gress, the latter, the disc at hand, has the veteran drummer joined in a duo set with guitarist Ben Monder. Haynes pulled up roots ...

Album Review

Ingrid Laubrock: Purposing The Air

Read "Purposing The Air" reviewed by Thierry De Clemensat

by Thierry De Clemensat
April 13, 2025

Purposing The Air is a recording of extreme quality, though it is undoubtedly aimed at an informed audience, one more inclined toward contemporary classical music. While some pieces carry faint echoes of jazz, listening to this album is akin to stepping into a museum to attend a recital. Each artist is striving for excellence on every level: musicality, interpretation and even theatricality. It is, without a doubt, a powerful creation. To fully grasp the artistic approach behind this ...

Album Review

Ben Monder: Planetarium

Read "Planetarium" reviewed by Vic Albani

by Vic Albani
March 5, 2025

Ben Monder chi? In Italia è piuttosto difficile incontrare qualcuno che conosca bene il lavoro di questo sessantatreenne signore newyorchese. Inquadriamolo: chitarrista di spicco nell'area newyorkese da oltre un trentennio, Ben ha lavorato con importanti nomi della musica moderna come (tra i tanti) Marc Johnson, Lee Konitz, Andrew Cyrille, George Garzone, Paul Motian, Maria Schneider, ma forse il suo nome è noto per il fatto di essere stato chitarrista dell'ultimo album inciso da David Bowie Blackstar.

Album Review

Matt Pavolka: Disciplinary Architecture

Read "Disciplinary Architecture" reviewed by Vincenzo Roggero

by Vincenzo Roggero
February 19, 2025

Pur essendo da oltre vent'anni una presenza importante della scena newyorchese il bassista, trombonista, compositore Matt Pavolka ha pubblicato solo tre album a proprio nome: l'esordio di Something People Can Use (Toneofapitch, 2008), l'ottimo The Horns Band (FSNT,2014) e, a dieci anni di distanza, questo Disciplinary Architecture per la prestigiosa Sunnyside. Se nell'album precedente a farla da padrone erano naturalmente i fiati, e che fiati (Kirk Knuffke alla cornetta, Loren Stillman al sax alto, Jacob Garchik al ...

Album Review

The Bad Plus: Complex Emotions

Read "Complex Emotions" reviewed by Mike Jurkovic

by Mike Jurkovic
November 4, 2024

For those out there who may have inadvertently thought The Bad Plus had nothing major left to say after two-plus decades of saying major things, guess again. Because Complex Emotions--their sixteenth statement of purpose--doubles down and ups a hundred. Proof positive is how guitarist Ben Monder's valedictory “LiPo"--equal parts biblical wind and prairie sandstorm--sleigh rides Category 5 nonstop from Complex Emotions's changeling opener, founder/bassist Reid Anderson's “Grid/Ocean." Seemingly with a mind of its own, the track thrashes then ...

Education

Modern Guitar Harmony Launches New Website For Harmonic Explorations On Guitar

Source: Marcel Springorum
June 12, 2025

Modern Guitar Harmony is proud to announce the launch of its newly redesigned educational website, ModernGuitarHarmony.com, a premier destination for guitarists seeking to deepen their understanding of advanced harmony, improvisation, and modern composition techniques. The updated platform offers a rich and growing library of eBooks, courses, and mentorship programs, featuring content from world-renowned guitarists such as Ben Monder, John Stowell, Gilbert Isbin, and others. Designed for serious musicians, the site caters to intermediate-to-advanced players who want to move beyond basic ...
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Performance / Tour

Songlines Recordings Will Celebrate Its 20th Anniversary With Guitar/Oud Night At New York's Shapeshifter Lab On June 14

Source: Cary Goldberg
May 22, 2012

Triple Bill Will Feature Ben Monder Trio, Brad Shepik Quartet and Gordon Grdina/Mark Helias To help celebrate Songlines Recordings’ 20th anniversary, three string players with deep connections to the label will perform at ShapeShifter Lab on June 14,co-presented by Songlines and Search and Restore. Ben Monder is reviving his original trio with the personnel from its first recording, Flux (Songlines 1995) – Drew Gress on bass and Jim Black on drums. In fact it's this particular formation's first gig anywhere ...
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Event

Alternative Guitar Summit brings together Nels Cline, Mary Halvorson, Ben Monder, Thurston Moore: Jan. 13-15, plus many more

Source: Fully Altered Media
January 3, 2012

Joel Harrison presents the Alternative Guitar Summit Co-sponsored by the New York Guitar Festival Featuring Nels Cline, Mary Halvorson, Vic Juris, Ben Monder, Thurston Moore and many more! January 13, 14 and 15, 2012 Rockwood Music Hall 196 Allen Street New York, NY 10002 (212) 477-4155 The guitar these days is a kind of magic wand, a poly-theistic blow torch, lovely, raging, gentle, noisy, intimate, voluminous, hallucinogenic, funky, juvenile, ageless. More than ...
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Recording

Ben Monder & Bill McHenry Release "Bloom" on BlueMusicGroup.com

Source: All About Jazz
February 11, 2009

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Performance / Tour

Julie Hardy @ La Lanterna / Bar Next Door With Ben Monder, guitar and Matt Clohesy, bass

Source: All About Jazz
April 17, 2006

On Monday, April 24th (8:00-11:30pm) at La Lanterna / Bar Next Door, vocalist and composer Julie Hardy will perform with guitarist Ben Monder and bassist Matt Clohesy. Both Monder and Clohesy will be featured on her next CD release on Fresh Sound New Talent records. A vast array of material will be presented including standards, original compositions and modern pieces from Hardy's latest CD release, “A Moment's Glance". La Lanterna / Bar Next Door is located at 129 Macdougal Street, ...
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Performance / Tour

Ben Monder at Philadelphia Museum of Art

Source: All About Jazz
November 24, 2005

Fresh off the release Oceana, his fourth CD as a bandleader, jazz guitarist Ben Monder will perform at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Friday evening, Nov. 25, as part of the Museum's “Art After 5" series. Monder, a musician in the New York area for over 20 years, has performed with a variety of artists, including Jack McDuff, Marc Johnson, and Lee Konitz, and has appeared on over 90 CDs as a sideman. He has also appeared with the ...
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