Ben Wendel

An adventurous jazz saxophonist, Ben Wendel is known for his harmonically sophisticated, motivic-based improvisation and broad compositional style touching upon post-bop, classical, and post-rock influences. Wendel first emerged as a member of the forward-thinking ensemble Kneebody in the early 2000s. With Kneebody he earned a Grammy nomination for the group's 2009 album Twelve Songs by Charles Ives. As a solo artist, Wendel has garnered attention for his own sophisticated records, including 2009's Simple Song and 2016's What We Bring, with pianist Gerald Clayton. In addition to his ongoing work with Kneebody, he drew inspiration from Tchaikovsky for 2018's The Seasons, and continued to push stylistic boundaries on releases such as 2020's High Heart and 2023's All One. In 2024 he issued Understory: Live at the Village Vanguard, and in 2026 he delivered the studio effort BaRcoDe for saxophone and mallets.