Ben Wendel: BaRcoDe

BaRcoDe marks the formation of a new ensemble and the debut album from tenor saxophonist Ben Wendel. An electroacoustic project for saxophone and mallets, it brings together a stellar cast of contemporary vibraphonists and percussionists in Joel Ross, Simon Moullier, Patricia Brennan and Juan Diego Villalobos .

A two-time Grammy nominee and co-founder of Kneebody, Wendel has performed and recorded with artists as varied as Bill Frisell, Tigran Hamasyan and Prince, accumulating numerous awards along the way. The ensemble developed the project via residencies at The Jazz Gallery in New York in 2023 and 2025, a process that helped crystallize each musician's role and the palette of instrumentation. Alongside saxophone and vibraphones, they employ restrained electronics, marimbas, percussion and the chromatic balafon. The resulting soundscape is highly textural, through which, across six tracks, they move between modern jazz, chamber music, electronics and classical influence.

The excellent opening track, "Clouds," features melody and rhythm split across two vibraphones, giving a mesmeric, interlocking effect beneath Wendel's bright saxophone lines. Patterns repeat and overlap in a continuous flow, with group integration being prioritized over a conventional procession of solos. Ross and Brennan begin "Mimo" by weaving together slow mallet patterns before Villalobos and Moullier gradually increase the momentum. Wendel demonstrates his technical prowess through both rapid, intricate runs and more lyrical passages as the piece moves through shifting phases and time signatures.

The only non-Wendel original is Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Ohla Maria." Wendel's elegant arrangement unfolds as a quiet, immersive 10-minute delight. Listeners familiar with "Repeat After Me" from Kneebody's album Reach (GroundUp Music, 2025) will find this version recognizable, though significantly reimagined.

"Birds Ascend" is apparently inspired by the British pianist Kit Downes and the Scottish fiddle player Aidan O’Rourke (of Lau), who formed a duo in 2016. The piece blends improvised, interweaving vibraphone lines and rhythmic figures into its structure, creating a strong sense of motion. Wendel's signature whistling appears on "Lonely One," alongside gently cascading vibraphones, subtle electronics and bittersweet saxophone tones.

With this album, Wendel pushes his restless creativity into new territory. His innovative approach produces a set of compositions that provide ideal frameworks for his collaborators, who contribute a number of superb moments. Wendel's playing combines wonderful technique, invention and precision, yet it is the collective interaction that ultimately defines this release as something unique and powerful.

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