First things first - download your free transcription.
I’m back to present the second video from my recent “IRL Week”, in which I jammed with, traded licks with, and interviewed two of my favorite musicians. (If you didn’t catch last week’s installment with JP Bouvet, check the article immediately below this.)
This week we have Ben Wendel of Kneebody who, in my humble opinion, is among a small handful of truly great sax players of his generation.
That I happen to know Ben, and that he’s taken the time to play with me a few times over the years is more a testament to his generosity with his time and gameness to share his gifts with fans than any of my abilities. But I’ve been lucky all the same.
The idea for this week’s video actually began more than a year ago, when Ben and I discussed doing some content together. Wouldn’t it be fun, we mused, for us to discuss some of Ben’s most famous drum parts. We’d play them together, then I’d interview him about them. After some scheduling snafus, we finally made it happen at the beginning of December.
That complete conversation is coming soon, but today I give you our “jam session” - live takes of the 3 songs we talked about, with added context, and some of that “good old” 8020 teaching.
The songs we play - Blocks and Backbou from the album Frame, and Drum Battle from Kneebody - are 3 that shaped my drumming and musical tastes as I was developing as a player. Being able to play them with their creator was a ton of fun.
Hope you enjoy.