Ben Wendel Quartet | Athenaeum Jazz

• Athenaeum Music & Arts Library
  1008 Wall Street, La Jolla, CA 92037

• Add to Google Calendar
• Add to Apple Calendar

Thursday, April 24, 2025

7:30 PM; Doors open at 7 PM

The series concludes on Thursday, April 24, at the Athenaeum with the Ben Wendel Quartet, featuring Wendel on saxophone with an all-star rhythm section of Gerald Clayton on piano, Luca Alemanno on bass, and Jonathan Pinson on drums. Grammy-nominated saxophonist Ben Wendel was born in Vancouver and raised in Los Angeles. Currently living in Brooklyn, he has enjoyed a varied career as a performer, composer, and producer. Highlights include tours, performances, and/or recordings with artists such as Terence Blanchard, Bill Frisell, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Tigran Hamasyan, Antonio Sanchez, Eric Harland, Taylor Eigsti, Linda May Han Oh, Moonchild, Louis Cole, Daedelus, Snoop Dogg, and Prince. Wendel is a founding member of the Grammy-nominated group Kneebody. His 2023 record, All One, was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Contemporary Instrumental Album category. His latest release, Understory: Live at the Village Vanguard (October 2024), features his longtime colleague, Gerald Clayton.

The New York Times wrote, “Innovator Ben Wendel Redefines the Musical Encounter ... [he is] a naturally inquisitive musician whose credentials branch out beyond jazz.” DownBeat recognized his “keen ability to balance intellectual curiosity with emotional and melodic impact,” celebrating his “gigantic sound generating visceral energy and controlled chaos.”