Ben Wendel | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | February 20, 1976
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Saxophone, bassoon |
Labels | Motema, Brainfeeder, Concord, Sunnyside |
Website | benwendel |
Ben Wendel is a Grammy nominated jazz saxophonist, bassoonist, and pianist who is a founding member of the band Kneebody. [1] He has worked with Ignacio Berroa, Tigran Hamasyan, Bill Frisell, Terence Blanchard, Antonio Sanchez, Gerald Clayton, Taylor Eigsti, Linda May Han Oh, Eric Harland, Moonchild, Louis Cole, Daedelus, Snoop Dogg and the artist formerly known as Prince
Wendel was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and raised in Los Angeles. [2] Highlights include multiple domestic and international tours with artists such as Ignacio Berroa, Tigran Hamasyan, Bill Frisell,Terence Blanchard, Antonio Sanchez, Gerald Clayton, Taylor Eigsti, Linda May Han Oh, Eric Harland, Moonchild, Louis Cole, Daedelus, Snoop Dogg and Prince. Ben is a founding member of the Grammy nominated group Kneebody. [3] As a composer, he has received an ASCAP Jazz Composer Award, [4] the 2008 and 2011 Chamber Music America New Works Grant, [5] and the Victor Lynch-Staunton award by the Canada Council for the Arts. [6] He co-wrote the score for John Krasinski's adaptation of David Foster Wallace's "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men". He worked with conductor Kent Nagano in producing concerts for the Festspiel Plus in Munich, Germany. From 2008 to 2015, he produced a multi-genre performance series at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, California. [7] During that time he was appointed the head of their Jazz and Blues initiative. As part of this appointment, he helped to create an artistic council which included Quincy Jones, Herb Alpert and Luciana Souza. Wendel has taught jazz at USC and the New School in New York City. [8]
Most recently, Wendel has received a 2024 Grammy nomination for his 2023 album entitled "All One."
Source: [9]
With Darryl Holter
With Kneebody + Daedelus
With David Cook
With Dan Tepfer
With Jeremy Dutton
With Daedelus
With Next.Ape
With Tom Ollendorff
With Terrace Martin
With Nabate Isles
With Fabia Mantwill Orchestra
With Bruno Schorp
With Gerald Clayton
With Matt Brewer
With Romain Pilon
With David Cook
With Guilhem Flouzat
With Phil Donkin
With Linda Oh
With Philip Dizack
With Moonchild
With Todd Sickafoose
With Tigran Hamasyan
With Taylor Eigstei
With Otmaro Ruíz
With Adam Rudolph
With Good Charlotte:
With Marco Antonio Solís
With Michael Whittaker
With Atlantiquity
With Jason Mraz
With others
Kurt Rosenwinkel is an American jazz guitarist, composer, bandleader, producer, educator, keyboardist and record label owner.
Taylor Eigsti is an American jazz pianist and composer. Eigsti's trio features bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Eric Harland. He is also a member of Eric Harland Voyager, Kendrick Scott Oracle, and Gretchen Parlato's group.
Julian Lage is an American guitarist and composer.
Scott Tixier is a French-born jazz violinist and professor of jazz violin at the University of North Texas.
Donald Paul McCaslin is an American jazz saxophonist. He has recorded over a dozen albums as a bandleader in addition to many sideman appearances, including on David Bowie's final studio album, Blackstar (2016).
Scott Amendola is an American drummer from the San Francisco Bay Area. His styles include jazz, blues, groove, and rock.
Nate Wood is an American jazz multi-instrumentalist. He has performed with Wayne Krantz, Kneebody, Tigran Hamasyan, Louis Cole, The Calling, and Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders.
Motéma Music is a jazz and world music record label in the United States. It was founded in 2003 in San Francisco Bay Area by label president and recording artist Jana Herzen. The label has received Grammy recognition more than 25 times for albums in jazz, Latin jazz, reggae, and R&B. Motema's roster includes Gregory Porter, Joey Alexander, Deva Mahal, Pedrito Martinez, Randy Weston, Geri Allen, David Murray, Monty Alexander, and Charnett Moffett, Donny McCaslin, Mark Guiliana, and Terri Lyne Carrington and many other respected artists in jazz, world and soul music.
Kneebody is an American band formed in 2001, consisting of Adam Benjamin on keyboards, Shane Endsley on trumpet, Ben Wendel on tenor saxophone, and Nate Wood on bass guitar and drums.
Kaveh Rastegar is a Persian-American Grammy-nominated songwriter, record producer, composer, and bass guitarist. Rastegar was born in Montreal and raised in Denver, Colorado. He currently resides in the Los Angeles/Pasadena area with his wife and children.
Shane Endsley is an American trumpeter, drummer, and composer. He is a founding member of Kneebody, as well as an active leader and sideman with other New York City jazz musicians, as well as with pop and rock musicians such as Ani DiFranco and Pearl Jam.
Adam Benjamin is an American jazz keyboardist and composer. He is a founding member of Kneebody, and leads an active career as a performer and writer. He has been recognized as a Rising Star in Jazz by Downbeat Magazine.
Dayna Stephens is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. In addition to leading his own group, Stephens has performed extensively with Kenny Barron, Ambrose Akinmusire, Taylor Eigsti, Julian Lage, Eric Harland, and Gerald Clayton. Stephens grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended Berkeley High School. He went on to study at the Berklee School of Music and later at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.
Thomas Morgan is an American jazz bassist.
Mockroot is the sixth album by Tigran Hamasyan, released 17 February 2015. The album mixes traditional Armenian folk music with jazz, in the jazz fusion style. It features Tigran on synths, keyboard and vocals; Sam Minaie on bass guitar; and Arthur Hnatek on drums and electronics. It was the first album he released on Nonesuch Records. The album was planned to be released 26 January 2015, but was delayed and released 17 February 2015. It also includes one of the most complex time signatures, with the track "Entertain Me" having a time of 256/16.
Simple Song is a contemporary jazz album by saxophonist Ben Wendel, released on March 24, 2009. The album features a collection of neo-bop jazz compositions.
Frame is an album by saxophonist and composer Ben Wendel on Sunnyside, released on February 28, 2012. The album features a mix of contemporary styles, with configurations ranging from a duo to a full sextet. Frame was recorded on January 19 and 20, 2011, in Brooklyn, NY.
What We Bring is the third album by saxophonist and composer Ben Wendel. Released on Motéma Music on September 9, 2016, it marks his debut with the label.
All One is a GRAMMY® nominated 2023 studio album by saxophonist and composer Ben Wendel. The album, released on April 21, 2023, under the Edition label, features various artists on each track, including Bill Frisell, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Terence Blanchard, José James, Elena Pinderhughes, and Tigran Hamasyan.
Joe Sanders is an American jazz double bassist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 2023, saxophonist Joshua Redman described Sanders to the New York Times as among "the greats of [his] generation and [one] of the most active and emulated musicians on the scene today."