The following is jazz journalist Morgan Enos’s interview with saxophonist and composer Ben Wendel. His new live album, Understory: Live at the Village Vanguard, released 4 October via Edition Records, features pianist Gerald Clayton, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Obed Calvaire. Links to purchase the album, and to Wendel’s website, can be found at the end of this article.
Ben Wendel isn’t a conventional choice to play the Village Vanguard – which is part of what makes him perfect to record a Vanguard live album.
“When you have a room that’s not symmetrical, it can lend itself to sound even better,” Wendel says, citing the sound engineers and acousticians within his friendly ranks.
To hear Wendel tell it, he’s sat in every seat in the house, and uncannily, every position in the soundfield has sounded superb. (Despite not having that much Vanguard experience aside from however many gigs attended, this writer can vouch for that.)
“It’s that perfect balance of dry and wet, give and take,” Wendel says. “No matter where you’re sitting, it sounds great. It feels like the music is right there – you’re touching it.”
An oblong room meets an oblong artist. Wendel – a veteran who staked his claim with the uncategorisable quartet Kneebody along with keyboardist Adam Benjamin, trumpeter Shane Endsley, and bassist and drummer Nate Wood – has long steeped his work in an experimentalist spirit.
Read on to learn how Wendel’s artistry squares with the Vanguard philosophy.
UK Jazz News: This is your first Vanguard album. What made now the time?
Ben Wendel: That’s a really good question. Leading up to the recording, I had already played there three or four times as a leader. I was always building up to the idea of doing a recording there; that’s obviously one of those bucket list experiences.
I wanted to settle in a bit, also. [Regarding] the club, there are unspoken rules about that, like, the first time you play there, you can’t record there. You have to kind of earn the trust of the venue, too.
UKJN: Good policy.
BW: Yeah, so now felt like the right time. I’ve [only] done studio albums up until now, and live is just a different thing. I play differently; I lead bands differently. And I just thought, What better place to demonstrate that side of my world, than the greatest club in the world?
I have a lot of desert island [discs], but there’s definitely a handful that are specifically from the Vanguard. Like, Joe Henderson, [1986’s] The State of the Tenor. Coltrane Quintet, 1961. I’ve probably listened to those albums literally 1,000 times, so I intimately know the sound of that room and have a real connection to the place.
UKJN: It has such a specific shape and sonic properties. It must be kind of haunting to go back and listen to Sonny Rollins or Bill Evans or whoever and go, Oh my god, that sounds like my record!
BW: I deliberately chose for the first track to start with solo saxophone for 20 seconds, because it really is true: immediately, when you hear the sound of a sax in that room, you’ll go, Oh, yeah, that’s the sound. It’s like the missing Beatle: the sound of that room is definitely a big part of the colour of the albums that are made there.
UKJN: Can you talk about the band? I know Obed [Calvaire] and Linda [May Han Oh] have a history playing together; I can’t immediately recall Linda playing with Gerald [Clayton].
BW: I tend to like putting bands together where there are lots of different histories between the members.
I would say I’m probably the most distinct connective thread between those three players. I played on two of Linda’s albums. I played on an album of Gerald’s and also produced one of his albums.
Then, Obed: one of the times I played at the Vanguard was in Linda’s band. She put together a band for one week that included Obed. I put a little bookmark in my mind, because I thought the combination of Linda and Obed was really fantastic.
Gerald and I have a ton of history; I just admire him so much as a musician. I think he’s one of the baddest around on piano, and I knew he would fit right in. That’s how I was envisioning the band, and then I really wrote to that band. I was specifically thinking of those musicians when I put the music together.
UKJN: You must have thought long and hard about what to play for your first Vanguard album. What was that curation process like?
BW: I’ve been fortunate enough to hang with the curators of the Vanguard. I knew [late owner] Lorraine [Gordon] before she passed. I became friends with [Lorraine’s daughter and Vanguard co-runner] Deborah [Gordon] and [longtime general manager] Jed [Eisenman].
Over the years, they’ve told me the philosophy of that club, and that philosophy remains the same. They really are trying to embody the definition of “vanguard.” They’re really forward thinking. It’s remarkable, given that they give a whole week to you, that they’re still willing to present and take a risk on relatively unknown artists, and give them a chance to really develop within their club. They’re still thinking about the music.
One thing that’s so hip about the club is that, for example, most of the time when I play there, I bring my effects pedals. Initially I thought, I wonder if this is going to be really bad that I’m doing this.
But sure enough, the first time I played there, I brought my Seasons band, and Lorraine was right there. She really dug it. They’re not traditionalists in that way.
So, when I was putting the music together, I thought, I want to do something that really acknowledges the history of the room, and how I’m part of this continuum.
For example, that’s why I chose “On the Trail.” That song was most famously recorded by Sonny Rollins, but it’s just, like, one of those tunes. But then I did a contrafact of “Evidence” by Monk, who played there a ton.
I definitely wanted to tip my hat to the history of that room. But then, I was hoping by choosing those tunes and putting them through the Wendel filter, it’s a way to express myself within the context and history of the Village Vanguard.
So, I was trying to find a balance between writing originals and using my own developed library of sounds, and then also connecting it to the history of the club.
