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Ben Wendel
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. One of the performances (a collaboration between Theo Bleckmann and Kneebody featuring the songs of Charles Ives) was signed to Winter & Winter and later received a Grammy nomination. Since 2007 Ben has produced Under The Radar, a multi-genre performance series at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, California.
Ben is a recording artist with Sunnyside Records, with plans for his second release in Spring 2012. He is a former Adjunct Professor of Jazz Studies at USC and currently teaches through The New School in NYC. Ben recently had the honor of conducting a re-creation of “Bird With Strings” at Jazz At The Lincoln Center with guests Charles McPherson and Wes “Warm Daddy” Anderson.
Awards
Chamber Music America "New Works Grant" 2008 and 2011 International Songwriting Competition Winner 2008 ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Winner 2005
Gear
AEA Microphones
Tags
Ben Wendel: All One
![Read "All One" reviewed by Claudio Bonomi](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/43e1a9860d0a9eceaf432023b7beefcc.jpg)
by Claudio Bonomi
Classe 1976, canadese di nascita, cresciuto a Los Angeles e attualmente residente a Brooklyn (New York), Ben Wendel è considerato un astro nascente del jazz contemporaneo da diversi anni. Sassofonista e compositore, oltre ad essere stato nel 2001 tra i fondatori dei Kneebody, si è costruito negli anni una solida reputazione di solista e leader firmando ben sette album che hanno suscitato l'attenzione di pubblico e critica. Questo All One non fa eccezione. È stato concepito in tempi ...
read moreBen Wendel High Heart: Drawn Away
![Read "Ben Wendel High Heart: Drawn Away" reviewed by Mike Jacobs](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/fd77d2bd3bce6abf871d8c7595423ffa.jpg)
by Mike Jacobs
The centerpiece of his album, High Heart (Edition, 2020), Drawn Away" showcases Ben Wendel's compositional edge and vision as well as the collective abilities of this superlative ensemble. Who says challenging musical notions can be expressed in a palpably uplifting way? ...
read moreBen Wendel: All One
![Read "All One" reviewed by Jerome Wilson](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/43e1a9860d0a9eceaf432023b7beefcc.jpg)
by Jerome Wilson
Saxophonist Ben Wendel came up with a unique approach for this album of duets. He plays with a different musician on each of these six tracks, but while his guests stick to their primary instruments, Wendel fills in the space around them with multiple saxophone and bassoon parts, electronic effects, and percussion. The most conventional results of this approach are heard in the two vocal tracks. Cecile McLorin Salvant's sensitive singing on I Loves You Porgy" and Jose ...
read moreBen Wendel On 'The Unspeakable Truths' That Are Passed Between Musicians
![Read "Ben Wendel On 'The Unspeakable Truths' That Are Passed Between Musicians" reviewed by Leo Sidran](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/fd77d2bd3bce6abf871d8c7595423ffa.jpg)
by Leo Sidran
For saxophonist Ben Wendel, the pandemic provided the space for him to develop his latest solo record, All One (Edition Records), a project that is both very solitary and very collaborative. It features a woodwind choir of saxophones and bassoons performed entirely by Ben, and then joined by special guests like singers Cecile McLorin Salvant and Jose James, guitarist Bill Frisell, and trumpeter Terence Blanchard.Wendel is no stranger to experimentation or to collaboration. As a member of the ...
read moreBen Wendel Group At Bop Stop
![Read "Ben Wendel Group At Bop Stop" reviewed by John Chacona](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/fd77d2bd3bce6abf871d8c7595423ffa.jpg)
by John Chacona
Ben Wendel Group Bop Stop Cleveland, OH March 22, 2023 For a long time, California has held a mythic place in the U.S. popular imagination as a fountainhead of new ideas in culture, technology, or in the case of the smartphone ("Designed by Apple in California") of both. So it makes a certain amount of sense that every musician in the Ben Wendel quartet that played jny: Cleveland's Bop Stop was either born in the ...
read moreFabia Mantwill: Em.Perience
![Read "Em.Perience" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/f451e505c85a7a9d2599a1e468fd5e59.jpg)
by Angelo Leonardi
«Non mi interessa in quale stile o genere possa essere classificata questa musicadice Fabia Mantwillche sia jazz, classica, folk, canzone d'autore, soul. Penso che i confini stiano diventando sempre più sfocati». Il debutto discografico della giovane bandleader, sassofonista e cantante tedesca contiene elementi di tutti quei generi musicali e non ha alcun senso cercare etichette. È comunque certo che la 28enne artista di Berlino è un talento tanto versatile quanto singolarmente precoce per questi anni: ha fondato ...
read moreBen Wendel: going forward with a High Heart
![Read "Ben Wendel: going forward with a High Heart" reviewed by David Bixler](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/fd77d2bd3bce6abf871d8c7595423ffa.jpg)
by David Bixler
High Heart is the latest release from tenor saxophonist Ben Wendel. In this episode of Liner Notes, Wendel discusses the creation of this music as well as the unique position he found himself in when air travel came to a grinding halt in March at the beginning of the pandemic. This episode features music from Ben Wendel's High Heart (Edition Records). ...
read moreJazz this week: Melissa Aldana Quartet, Ben Wendel's "The Seasons," Galactic, and more
![Jazz this week: Melissa Aldana Quartet, Ben Wendel's "The Seasons," Galactic, and more](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/logo/stlouisjazznotes100.jpg)
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
This week's calendar of live jazz and creative music in St. Louis features performances from two stellar saxophonists, one of New Orleans' favorite funk bands, and more. Let's go to the highlights... Wednesday, March 14 Saxophonist Melissa Aldana returns with her quartet for the first of four nights of performances at Jazz at the Bistro. Aldana, who was born in Chile and educated at Berklee, has enjoyed a fast rise in the jazz world since becoming the first female instrumentalist ...
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StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Ben Wendel's "The Seasons"
![StLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Ben Wendel's "The Seasons"](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/fd77d2bd3bce6abf871d8c7595423ffa.jpg)
Source:
St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
This week, the StLJN video spotlight shines on saxophonist Ben Wendel, who's coming to St. Louis for a performance on Thursday, March 15 at The Ready Room. Born in Vancouver, CA, raised in Los Angeles, and educated at the Eastman School of Music, Wendel now lives in NYC and probably is best known as a member of the collective Kneebody. who have played here in St. Louis a couple of times at Jazz at the Bistro, most recently in March ...
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Motema Music Presents Ben Wendel - What We Bring - Featuring Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders & Henry Cole
![Motema Music Presents Ben Wendel - What We Bring - Featuring Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders & Henry Cole](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/BW_CDcvrcopy.jpg)
Source:
Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity
Motema Music Presents Ben Wendel—What We Bring Featuring Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders & Henry Cole What We Bring is Wendel's Debut for Motema Music & Will Be Available September 9, 2016 What We Bring—CD Release Tour Sept 14- Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, NYC- 7:30 & 9:30 PM Sept 15- The Regattabar, Cambridge, MA- 7:30 PM Sept 16- Firehouse 12, New Haven, CT Sept 17- Chris' Jazz Cafe, Philadelphia. PA Sept 19- University of ...
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Ben Wendel - The Seasons Project: August with Mark Turner + NPR + Concerts + ACT II
![Ben Wendel - The Seasons Project: August with Mark Turner + NPR + Concerts + ACT II](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/fd77d2bd3bce6abf871d8c7595423ffa.jpg)
Source:
Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity
Dear Friends, Colleagues, Journalists, DJs & PDs, Ben Wendel is incredibly happy to announce the next installment of his video art project, The Seasons. Previous guests on The Seasons include Julian Lage, Shai Maestro, Matt Brewer, Joshua Redman and others. This month features a duet with the great saxophonist and composer, Mark Turner, someone who has greatly influenced me and countless other musicians", commented Wendel. For those that know Mark's playing, this duet ended up being directly influenced by his ...
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ACT - Featuring Ben Wendel, Harish Raghavan & Nate Wood Proudly Announces The Release Of Their Second Recording, Act II
![ACT - Featuring Ben Wendel, Harish Raghavan & Nate Wood Proudly Announces The Release Of Their Second Recording, Act II](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/coverart/large/ACT_II.jpg)
Source:
Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity
ACT—Featuring Ben Wendel, Harish Raghavan & Nate Wood Proudly Announces the Release of Their Second Recording, ACT II Available on September 18, 2015 CD RELEASE CELEBRATIONS September 16 - The Jazz Gallery, NYC - 8 & 10 PM September 17 - The Blue Whale, LA - 9 PM-12 AM It only takes a few minutes of this debut to clarify just how rousing the group can be... the kind of propulsion that a sax trio needs to grab ...
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Christmas New Orleans Style
![Christmas New Orleans Style](https://s3.amazonaws.com/allaboutjazz/photos/profile/musician/fd77d2bd3bce6abf871d8c7595423ffa.jpg)
Source:
All About Jazz
JAZZY CHRISTMAS DAY CONCERTS CELEBRATE THE SEASON WITH NEW ORLEANS SWING KERMIT RUFFINS & HIS BARBECUE SWINGERS WITH PHILLIP MANUEL & THERESA ANDERSSON PERFORM AT SEASONAL SHOWCASE Celebrate the holidays at this year�s Christmas Day Concert, presenting the award-winning Kermit Ruffins & the Barbecue Swingers, featuring vocalists Phillip Manuel and Theresa Andersson as they perform New Orleans� Christmas classics. The program of dazzling holiday classics, performed New Orleans style, will take place December 25 at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux ...
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Ben Britton
saxophonePepa Niebla
vocalsBruno Schorp
bass, acousticBen Bryden
saxophoneDave Solazzo
pianoAlex Hahn
saxophone, altoNick Rousseau
guitarZac Carson
bassJoan Hutton
saxophoneBrandonLee Cierley
saxophoneKenta Shimakawa
guitarJérôme Masco
saxophoneFryderyk HD
pianoBow Echo
pianoDavid Bernot
saxophone, tenorSvetlana Marinchenko
pianoLast Ark Out
band / ensemble / orchestraPhotos
Music
The Trion Re
From: Spirit ScienceBy Ben Wendel
October
From: The SeasonsBy Ben Wendel