Ben Wendel: Assembling the Mallet Avengers
The Grammy-nominated saxophonist and Kneebody co-founder joins us for episode 300 to discuss his new album BaRcoDe, a project built around four of the most inventive mallet players working today.
Today we put The Tonearm's needle on Ben Wendel.
Ben is a Grammy-nominated saxophonist, composer, and co-founder of Kneebody, with a discography that covers post-bop, chamber jazz, and electronic music. He's worked with Bill Frisell, Tigran Hamasyan, Terence Blanchard, and yes, Prince.
His new album BaRcoDe just dropped on Edition Records. It's built around a concept that's hard to pull off: four of the most in-demand vibraphonists working today—Joel Ross, Simon Moullier, Patricia Brennan, and Juan Diego Villalobos—surrounding one saxophonist. The group developed the music across two residencies at The Jazz Gallery in New York City, and the result is something that sits between chamber music and jazz improvisation, with electronics running through all of it.
Ben's here to walk us through how this project came together and what it took to write for an ensemble like this.
(The musical excerpts heard in the interview are from Ben Wendel's album BaRcoDe)
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Dig Deeper
Artist and Album
- Visit Ben Wendel at benwendel.com and follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube
- Purchase Ben Wendel's BaRcoDe from Edition Records, Bandcamp, or Qobuz and listen on your streaming platform of choice.
- BaRcoDe — Postgenre review
- BaRcoDe — PopMatters review
- Kneebody — Ben Wendel's long-running band; Reach (2025) includes "Repeat After Me," also recorded on BaRcoDe
The Jazz Gallery
- The Jazz Gallery — the New York venue where BaRcoDe was commissioned and developed across two residencies (2023 and 2025)
Ensemble Members
- Joel Ross — iplayvibes.com | Blue Note Records page
- Simon Moullier — simonmoullier.com
- Patricia Brennan — patriciabrennanvibes.com | The Tonearm Interview
- Juan Diego Villalobos — juandiegovibes.com
Musical Influences and References
- Sō Percussion — the Grammy-winning new-music percussion quartet whose members came up with Wendel at the Eastman School of Music; a key inspiration for BaRcoDe
- Antônio Carlos Jobim — "Olha Maria" — one of Wendel's favorite compositions of all time; the sole non-original on the album
- Kit Downes — British pianist and organist on ECM Records; a loose inspiration for "Birds Ascend"
- Aidan O'Rourke — Scottish fiddle player and composer; also a loose inspiration for "Birds Ascend"
- The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin — Wendel paraphrases a line from this book when discussing the title BaRcoDe
Los Angeles Connections
- The World Stage — performance and education space in Leimert Park Village, Los Angeles; co-founded by drummer Billy Higgins; a formative venue for Wendel
- Terrace Martin — Wendel's high school friend and collaborator; hip-hop producer for Kendrick Lamar and Snoop Dogg (verify URL before publishing)
- Billy Higgins — legendary jazz drummer and World Stage co-founder; an early mentor whose spirit Wendel also invokes when describing the Village Vanguard
Further Reading / Listening
- John Patitucci — bassist scheduled to guest with Wendel at the Village Vanguard in July
- Understory: Live at the Village Vanguard — Ben Wendel (Edition, 2024)
- All One — Ben Wendel (Edition, 2023) — Grammy-nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
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- Dig into this episode's complete show notes at podcast.thetonearm.com
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