Ben Wendel has always resisted the obvious move. So when the Jazz Gallery handed him an open-ended commission, he assembled four of the most distinctive mallet players working today—Joel Ross, Simon Moullier, Patricia Brennan, and Juan Diego Villalobos—stood himself in the center of a semicircle of vibraphones and marimbas, and called the result BaRcoDe.

In this conversation—episode 300 of The Tonearm Podcast—Wendel talks through the project's origins at the Jazz Gallery, the logic behind the album's title, and what it was like to inhabit that particular sonic space. He also reflects on what the Village Vanguard actually feels like from the stage, why he thinks bad teachers can be clarifying, and what's coming next—even if the logistics are, by his own admission, going to be a beast.

Listen in on today's new episode of The Tonearm Podcast: https://podcast.thetonearm.com/ben-wendel-assembling-the-mallet-avengers-barcode-saxophone/

#Jazztodon #Vibraphone #Percussion #BenWendel #Podcast

Ben Wendel announces new album, BaRcoDe; shares lead single + video

https://castthedice.org/?p=23721

#BenWendel

Ben Wendel Vanguard Quartet: "On The Trail"

#BenWendel (ts), Gerald Clayton (p), Linda May Han Oh (b), Obed Calvaire (dr)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAohQ4mZegk

#jazz

@jazz

Linda May Han Oh – bass, vocals
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_May_Han_Oh

Ben Wendel – saxophone
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wendel

Matthew Stevens – guitar
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Stevens_(musician)

Justin Brown – drums

"Walk Against Wind"
(Biophilia 2017)
https://songwhip.com/lindamayhanoh/walk-against-wind

#nowlistening #jazz #music #JazzMusic
#LindaMayHanOh
#BenWendel
#MatthewStevens
#JustinBrown

April 2023 capsule reviews focus on forward-thinking saxophonists who are pushing music into new areas. It features Brian Kiwanuka on Ingrid Laubrock’s 'The Last Quiet Place' (Pyroclastic Records) and Rob Shepherd on James Brandon Lewis’ ‘Eye of I’ (Anti-Records), Ben Wendel’s ‘All One’ (Edition Records), and John Zorn’s ‘New Masada Quartet, Vol. 2’ (Tzadik Records).

https://postgenre.org/april-2023-capsule-reviews/

#ingridlaubrock #jamesbrandonlewis #benwendel #johnzorn #albumreviews #music

The question was simple: Is there a piece of music you use to restore a sense of well-being?

Their answers are profound.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE: https://providence-institute-for-human-caring.simplecast.com/episodes/059-well-being-and-music

#Music #Wellbeing #Selfcare #MusicAsMedicine #BobMarley #RobertaFlack #PhilipGlass #KeithJarrett #BillyStrings #BobBoilen #TinyDesk #TinyDeskConcert #AllSongsConsidered #StevieWonder #VanMorrison #SteveSilberman #TheRoots #BenWendel #DavidCrosby #JerryGarcia #SpencerLaJoye #BrianEno #IrisDement

@stevesilberman