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

Ben Wendel: Assembling the Mallet Avengers