63: Ben Wendel, saxophonist

Saxophonist Ben Wendel grew up in a loud household and he had to fight to be heard. Maybe that’s why it’s so important to him to be heard clearly.

Born in Vancouver and raised in Los Angeles, by the time he left the west coast to attend Eastman School of Music, he had already been informed by a community of players and mentors, along with his cohorts in the Leimert Park scene. He carried the musical openness of that atmosphere with him to Eastman, then back to Los Angeles, and eventually to New York.

In college he connected with a group of like musicians and they formed Kneebody, a band that proudly defies category, but that lives in what Wendel refers to as “jazz adjacent” territory.

Find "The Line" on iTunes: http://bit.ly/1bPL0tC On Amazon: http://amzn.to/15F0uLn Get more Kneebody... http://kneebody.com/ FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/Kneebody TWITTER https://twitter.com/kneebody YOUTUBE http://www.youtube.com/user/fiveropes INSTAGRAM http://instagram.com/kneebody

Kneebody + Daedelus On Tour Now! For dates and tickets visit kneebody.com/tour Kneebody + Daedelus - Drum Battle From "Kneedelus" out now on Brainfeeder Available at: Brainfeeder: found.ee/kneedelus iTunes: found.ee/kneedelus-it Spotify: found.ee/kneedelus-sp Filmed and Edited by: Alex Chaloff (Bucket's Moving Company) Drum Battle Written By: Ben Wendel

Ben works regularly as both a sideman and a leader. His 2015 video series “The Seasons” featured 12 original compositions dedicated to (and featuring) 12 different musicians and released over the course of 12 months. 

THE SEASONS: APRIL 12 duets composed by Ben Wendel dedicated to 12 musicians released throughout the 12 months of 2015.

THE SEASONS: FEBRUARY 12 duets composed by Ben Wendel dedicated to 12 musicians released throughout the 12 months of 2015.

THE SEASONS: JUNE 12 duets composed by Ben Wendel dedicated to 12 musicians released throughout the 12 months of 2015.

THE SEASONS: JULY 12 duets composed by Ben Wendel dedicated to 12 musicians released throughout the 12 months of 2015. More info on this project and the artists involved can be found here: http://www.benwendel.com/theseasons Julian Lage - Guitar http://www.julianlage.com Ben Wendel - Saxophone http://www.benwendel.com Video and Audio by Alex Chaloff http://www.bucketsmovingcompany.com Special Thanks to Steve Brickman for additional camera work.

How does working in a visual medium change the way he thinks about making music? What’s happening in LA? What was it like to work with Snoop Dogg? Is it important to swing? How do you learn style and sound? Can it be taught? 

Ben Wendel performs "Song Song" from his album 'What We Bring' with Gerald Clayton, Joe Sanders, and Henry Cole. Get it on iTunes: http://smarturl.it/WhatWeBring Buy on Amazon: http://smarturl.it/WhatWeBringAmazon GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist Ben Wendel's 'What We Bring,' out now on Motema Music is his 15th album as a leader or co-leader and his debut for Motema.

Quick selfie in the cold in January, 2017 with Ben Wendel and Leo Sidran.

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