Ben Wendel’s High Heart
Ben Wendel tenor sax, Michael Mayo vocals, Lage Lund guitar, Shai Maestro piano/Rhodes, Joe Sanders bass, Ofri Nehemya drums.
With his most recent album High Heart, Ben Wendel made a personal, direct statement, with a striking tension between his melodic tenor sax and the wordless vocals of Michael Mayo. The High Heart band consists of absolute top musicians from New York, including Shai Maestro, who has previously performed at the BIMHUIS with his own band.
Ben Wendel is a versatile musician, who effortlessly switches between tenor sax and bassoon and from jazz to classical music, funk or West Coast hip-hop. He was born in Vancouver, raised in Los Angeles and is currently living in Brooklyn, New York. He made name with the group Kneebody, and alongside jazz musicians he has collaborated with, among others, Prince and Snoop Dogg.