In 2015, Grammy nominated and
award-winning saxophonist, bassoonist, composer Ben Wendel released a
music-video art project entitled The Seasons - inspired by a set of twelve
piano pieces written and release each month by Tchaikovsky in 1876. Wendel's
modern take on the idea was to compose and release twelve original jazz chamber
duets in video format on YouTube with modern luminaries Joshua Redman, Luciana
Souza, Eric Harland, Julian Lage, and Ambrose Akinmusire, among others. As the
videos garnered acclaim among social networks, the project became an unexpected
word of mouth success and was featured prominently in The New York Times (Best
of 2015), NPR's All Things Considered, and The CBC.
In 2016, after viewing an expressionist painting by Lee
Krasner at The Whitney Museum entitled "The Seasons," Wendel decided
to expand upon the original duets project by reimagining the arrangements for a
five-piece ensemble comprised of musicians and dear friends from The Seasons -
Aaron Parks (piano), Gilad Hekselman (guitar), Matt Brewer (bass) and Eric
Harland (drums).
The Seasons band will be launching a string of tour dates
with Wendel's debut as a leader at the legendary Village Vanguard (2/27-3/4),
followed by the recording session for The Seasons album (to be released in the
Fall of 2018), and tour dates in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Cambridge, St.
Louis, Indianapolis, Chicago, Winter Park and Tallahassee. "The uniqueness
of this tour, and upcoming recording, is that this music was never played live
or released as a traditional album. So this is the premiere of an exciting new
chapter in the Seasons project!", said Wendel.
GRAMMY-nominated saxophonist Ben Wendel
was born in Vancouver, Canada and raised in Los Angeles. Currently living in
Brooklyn, NY, he has enjoyed a varied career as a performer, composer and
producer. Highlights include multiple domestic and international tours with
artists such as Ignacio Berroa, Tigran Hamasyan, Antonio Sanchez, Gerald
Clayton, Eric Harland, Taylor Eigsti, Snoop Dogg and the artist formerly known
as Prince. Wendel is a founding member of the GRAMMY-nominated group Kneebody,
currently signed with Concord Records and Brainfeeder Music.
As a composer, he has received an ASCAP Jazz Composer Award,
the 2008 and 2011 Chamber Music America "New Works Grant" and most
recently was awarded the Victor Lynch-Staunton award by the Canada Council For
The Arts. He also co-wrote the score for John Krasinski's adaptation of David
Foster Wallace's "Brief Interviews With Hideous Men."
Wendel's recent work includes producing and playing in jazz
and many other genres, including the GRAMMY-nominated album "Life
Forum" for pianist Gerald Clayton on Concord Records, the new Kneedelus
album (Kneebody + Daedelus), released on Brainfeeder and given a rave 8.0
review from Pitchfork, appearing on Julia Holter's new film score, and
collaborating with her on a new non-jazz album he is co-creating with Daedelus
(the album will feature artists such as Terrace Martin, Knower and Mark
Guiliana), producing an album for Folk/Americana artist Darryl Holter (a BMI
Woody Guthrie Fellowship Recipient), playing on Jimmy Chamberlin's (drummer
from Smashing Pumpkins) new instrumental album, and producing live concerts at
the Broad Stage in Santa Monica, CA from 2008-2015, with the help of Quincy
Jones and his production team. He also recently worked with conductor Kent
Nagano in producing a series of concerts for the Festspiel Plus in Munich,
Germany.
Wendel is a former Adjunct Professor of Jazz Studies at USC
and a current Adjunct at the New School in NYC. Educational outreach has been a
constant in his career with over 250 masterclasses at various colleges,
universities, high schools, and previous work with the LA Philharmonic Artist
Program.
Wendel has recorded for Sunnyside Records, Concord Records
and Brainfeeder, with two solo albums under his belt, Simple Song (2009) and
Frame (2012), a duo project with French-American pianist Dan Tepfer entitled
Small Constructions (2013) and multiple Kneebody albums. His music video
project, The Seasons, inspired by Tchaikovsky's works of the same name, was
released throughout 2015. Wendel's critically acclaimed third solo album What
We Bring was released in the Fall of 2016 on Motema Music. The Seasons recording
will be released in the Fall of 2018!
UPCOMING APPEARANCES:
2/27-3/4 - New York,
NY - The Village Vanguard*
(Wendel's leader debut at the legendary Village Vanguard)
3/8 - Washington, DC - Blues Alley**
3/9 - Philadelphia, PA - Chris Jazz Café**
3/10 - Cambridge, MA - Sanders Theatre**
3/15 - St, Louis, MO - The Ready Room***
3/16 - Indianapolis, IN - Jazz Kitchen***
3/17 - Chicago, IL - Constellation***
3/18 - Winter Park, FL - Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts***
3/19 - Tallahassee, FL - Opperman Music Hall***
Ben Wendel - Tenor Saxophone, Gilad Hekselman - Guitar,
Aaron Parks - Piano, Matt Brewer - Bass, *Eric Harland, **Henry Cole,
***Kendrick Scott - Drums
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