Results for "Ben Wendel"

Ben Wendel

Grammy nominated performer, composer and producer Ben Wendel was educated at the Eastman School of Music in New York. Since graduating he has enjoyed a varied career as a performer, composer, producer and most recently, conductor. Highlights 
include multiple domestic and international tours with such artists as Cuban drumming legend Ignacio Berroa, Thelonious Monk Piano Competition Winner Tigran Hamasyan and Hip Hop artist Snoop Dogg. Ben is a founding member of the Grammy nominated group Kneebody. In addition to playing saxophone and bassoon, Ben also doubles on the piano.

 As a composer he has received an ASCAP Jazz Composer Award, was a winner in the 2007 International Songwriting Competition and received the 2008 and 2011 Chamber Music America “New Works Grant.” A frequent writer of film music, he co-wrote the score for John Krasinski’s 2009 adaptation of David Foster Wallace’s "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men." Ben was honored to work with conductor Kent Nagano in producing a series of concerts for the Festpeil Plus in Munich, Germany

Chapters

By Kneebody

Label: Edition Records
Released: 2019
Track listing: Spectra; What's My Name; Seaworthy Native; Wounds Let in the Light; Chapters; Hearts Won't Break; Ombre; The Trip; When It All Comes Down; The Non-Profit Prince of Lexington.

Kneebody: Chapters

by Mike Jacobs
December 10, 2019

Chapters--the title of Kneebody's 2019 release--has a certain appropriateness, as it definitely marks several new ones for the band. One being that lyric-oriented songs account for nearly half of the material on the album. Technically, vocals are nothing new to Kneebody. The band included one track with vocals on their 2002 proto-Kneebody album Wendel. Its 2009 ...

Master Drummer Jason Harnell Breaks New Ground With Experimental CD And Multimedia Experience, Total Harnage

October 2, 2019

When Jason Harnell was six years old, his father, Grammy winning composer and arranger Joe Harnell, invited Louie Bellson to their house to hear the budding prodigy play. After playing a 15-minute solo, the legendary drummer handed the sticks to Jason and said, “Your turn.” When Jason finished, an impressed Bellson gave the boy his drum ...

Alvas Showroom: The Art of Listening

by Jim Worsley
September 5, 2019

Allan Holdsworth was a giant, a genius, a gifted guitarist who had a great gauge for sound. An upper level musician can become less than that playing in a room, club, or hall that is beneath the caliber of their artistry. Holdsworth played the intimate and superbly sound engineered Alvas Showroom in San Pedro, CA many ...

Dan Tepfer & Kirk Knuffke: Generous Versatility

by Ludovico Granvassu
August 23, 2019

Dan Tepfer and Kirk Knuffke are two musicians that, despite being being only in their thirties, have already become reference players on their respective instruments. Known for their versatility, which allows them to be equally at home with the repertoires of Johann Sebastian Bach or Erik Satie as well as with all-out improvisation, they have a ...

Kneebody at Blue Note in Milan

by Roberto Cifarelli
May 26, 2019

Michael Ragonese: Day to Day

by Paul Naser
May 24, 2019

If you haven't heard Michael Ragonese's name before, you're sure to hear it a lot more. The award winning pianist is a constant fixture in Los Angeles; if he's not a sideman at one club, he's leading a band at another. Among the many luminaries he has performed or recorded with are: Bennie Maupin, David Binney, ...

Kneebody's Perfect

by Ludovico Granvassu
April 19, 2019

In less than two decades Kneebody has established itself as reference band of forward-looking musicians. With a brand new EP out, By Fire, their first release entirely dedicated to covers, a new outlet (the British musician-run reference label Edition Records), and new line-up following the departure of bassist Kaveh Rastegar, there's a been a lot going ...

Ben Wendel: The Seasons

by Angelo Leonardi
February 11, 2019

L'evoluzione del progetto The Seasons di Ben Wendel trova organica espressione in un nuovo collettivo. La prima realizzazione è avvenuta nel 2015, con dodici duo-performance (pubblicate su YouTube) effettuate con altrettanti partner: Joshua Redman, Aaron Parks, Ambrose Akinmusire, Julian Lage ecc... Le composizioni sono state arrangiate l'anno successivo per dei concerti in quintetto alla Jazz Gallery ...