Ben Monder (born May 24, 1962) is an American modern jazz guitarist.

Biography

Monder started playing guitar when he was eleven, after two years on violin. From 1979–84, he attended the Westchester Conservatory of Music, the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, ...

, and

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

. One of his early jobs was in 1986 when he performed with

Jack McDuff Eugene McDuff (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader who was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era ...

. In 1995 he recorded his debut album, ''Flux'', featuring drummer Jim Black and bassist Drew Gress. This was followed by the trio recording

Dust Dust is made of fine particles of solid matter. On Earth, it generally consists of particles in the atmosphere that come from various sources such as soil lifted by wind (an aeolian process), volcanic eruptions, and pollution. Dust in ...

(1996) and the quartet recording

Excavation Excavation may refer to: * Excavation (archaeology) * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Memo ...

(2000) which added vocalist

Theo Bleckmann Theodor Raoul Bleckmann (born 28 May 1966) is a German singer and composer. Biography Bleckmann was born in Dortmund, West Germany. He planned to be an ice skater before becoming a vocalist. In 1989 he moved to New York City and recorded his ...

. ''Bloom'', a 2001 recording (an improvisation recorded in a single day) with saxophone player Bill McHenry, wasn't released until 2010. In between, he released ''Oceana'' (2005), a genre-bending solo album, and ''The Distance'' (2006), an album with pianist Chris Gestrin and drummer Dylan van der Schyff. In 2007, he recorded ''At Night'' with

and drummer Satoshi Takeishi. In 2013, Monder released ''Hydra'' on Sunnyside, featuring Bleckmann, John Pattitucci, Skúli Sverrisson, and Ted Poor. He made his debut on

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's ...

as a leader with 2016's Amorphae, and played guitar on

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's final studio album, '' Blackstar'' (2016). He has worked with

Lee Konitz Leon Konitz (October 13, 1927 – April 15, 2020) was an American composer and alto saxophonist. He performed successfully in a wide range of jazz styles, including bebop, cool jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Konitz's association with the cool jaz ...

Paul Motian Stephen Paul Motian (March 25, 1931 – November 22, 2011) was an American jazz drummer, percussionist, and composer. Motian played an important role in freeing jazz drummers from strict time-keeping duties. He first came to prominence in the ...

Chris Cheek Christopher Carson Cheek (born September 16, 1968) is an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Cheek was born in St. Louis, Missouri, where his father was the director of a Junior high school band. Cheek began learning to play the alto saxophon ...

Tim Berne Tim Berne (born October 16, 1954) is an American avant-garde jazz saxophonist and record label owner. His primary instruments are the alto and baritone saxophones. Biography Berne was born in Syracuse, New York, United States. He has said t ...

David Binney David Binney (born August 2, 1961) is an American alto saxophonist and composer. Early life Binney was born in Miami, Florida, and was raised in Carpinteria, California. From his parents, who loved music, he was exposed to albums by John C ...

George Garzone George Garzone (born September 23, 1950) is a saxophonist and jazz educator from Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Garzone is a member of the Fringe, a jazz trio founded in 1972 that includes bassist John Lockwood and drummer Bob Gullotti. T ...

Jon Gordon Jon O. Gordon (born January 20, 1971) is an American author and speaker on the topics of leadership, culture, sales, and teamwork. Gordon has worked with numerous athletic organizations, academic institutions, and corporations, including the L ...

Julie Hardy Julie may refer to: * Julie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Julie'' (1956 film), an American film noir starring Doris Day * ''Julie'' (1975 film), a Hindi film by K. S. Sethumadhava ...

, John Hollenbeck,

Marc Johnson Marc Johnson may refer to: Musicians *Marc Johnson (musician) (born 1953), American jazz musician * Marc Johnson (rapper) (born 1979), Danish rapper known as Johnson *Marc Johnson, cello player with the Vermeer Quartet *Marc Johnson, member of the ...

Frank Kimbrough Frank Kimbrough (November 2, 1956 – December 30, 2020) was an American post-bop jazz pianist. He was born and raised in Roxboro, North Carolina. He did some work at Chapel Hill before moving to Washington, D. C. in 1980 and then New York City ...

, Guillermo Klein,

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received ...

, Michael Leonhart, Rebecca Martin, Donny McCaslin, Bill McHenry,

Charles Pillow Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, Tim Ries,

Pete Robbins Pete Robbins (born November 28, 1978) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer living in Brooklyn. He graduated from the New England Conservatory in 2002. He has performed or recorded with Vijay Iyer, John Hollenbeck, John Zorn, Craig T ...

, Josh Roseman, Maria Schneider, Kendra Shank,

Toots Thielemans Jean-Baptiste Frédéric Isidor, Baron Thielemans (29 April 1922 – 22 August 2016), known professionally as Toots Thielemans, was a Belgian jazz musician. He was mostly known for his chromatic harmonica playing, as well as his guitar and whist ...

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active ...

, Dan Willis, Miguel Zenón, and

Patrick Zimmerli Patrick Zimmerli (born July 23, 1968) is an American saxophonist, composer, arranger, and record producer. His work has been performed at Carnegie Hall and Town Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London and Salle Pleyel in Paris, as well as at ...

. From 2002–2005, he taught at the New England Conservatory. As of August, 2021 he is a member of the Minneapolis-based jazz quartet The Bad Plus.

Discography

As leader

* ''Flux'' (Songlines, 1995) * ''

'' (Arabesque, 1997) * ''

'' (Arabesque, 2000) * ''Oceana'' (Sunnyside, 2005) * ''Hydra'' (Sunnyside, 2013) * ''

Amorphae ''Amorphae'' is a studio album by American jazz guitarist Ben Monder recorded in October 2010 and December 2013 and released on ECM in January 2016. Background The first session featured drummer Paul Motian, who appears for a Rodgers and Hamme ...

'' (ECM, 2016) * ''Day After Day'' (Sunnyside, 2019)

As co-leader

* ''No Boat'' with

(Songlines, 1997) * ''At Night'' with Theo Bleckmann (Songlines, 2007) * ''Bloom'' with Bill McHenry (Sunnyside, 2010)

As sideman

With

* ''Origami'' (Songlines, 2001) * ''Elegy'' (ECM, 2017) With Guillermo Klein * ''Los Guachos II'' (Sunnyside, 1999) * ''Los Guachos III'' (Sunnyside, 2002) * ''Live In Bareclona'' (Fresh Sound, 2005) * ''Filtros'' (Sunnyside, 2008) * ''Carrera'' (Sunnyside, 2012) * ''Los Guachos V'' (Sunnyside, 2016) * ''Cristal'' (Sunnyside, 2019) With Donny McCaslin * ''Seen from Above'' (Arabesque, 2000) * ''Soar'' (Sunnyside, 2006) * ''In Pursuit'' (Sunnyside, 2007) * ''Declaration'' (Sunnyside, 2009) * ''Blow'' (Motema, 2018) With Bill McHenry * ''Rest Stop'' (Fresh Sound, 1998) * ''Graphic'' (Fresh Sound, 1999) * ''Featuring Paul Motian'' (Fresh Sound, 2003) * ''Roses'' (Sunnyside, 2007) * ''Ghosts of the Sun'' (Sunnyside, 2011) With

* ''Europe'' (Winter & Winter, 2001) * ''Holiday for Strings'' (Winter & Winter, 2002) * ''Garden of Eden'' (ECM, 2006) With

Noah Preminger Noah Preminger (born ) is an American jazz saxophonist. Music career Born in 1986, Preminger grew up in Canton, Connecticut. While in high school, he studied with saxophonist Dave Liebman. He released his debut album, ''Dry Bridge Road'', ...

* ''Dry Bridge Road'' (Nowt, 2008) * ''Haymaker'' (Palmetto, 2013) * ''Some Other Time'' (Newvelle, 2016) With Maria Schneider * ''Evanescence'' (Enja, 1994) * ''Coming About'' (Enja, 1996) * ''Allegresse'' (ArtistShare, 2000) * ''Days of Wine and Roses'' (ArtistShare, 2000) * ''Concert in the Garden'' (ArtistShare, 2004) * ''Sky Blue'' (ArtistShare, 2007) With

* ''Explosion'' (Songlines, 1997) * ''Expansion'' (Songlines, 2000) * ''The Book of Hours'' (Songlines, 2002) With others *

Pablo Ablanedo Pablo Ablanedo is an Argentine-born jazz composer, pianist, and teacher based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is known for incorporating elements of traditional Argentine music and contemporary classical into a jazz-influenced style. Ablanedo is t ...

, ''Alegria'' (Fresh Sound, 2003) *

David Ake David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, ''Humanities'' (Posi-Tone, 2018) * Reid Anderson, ''The Vastness of Space'' (Fresh Sound, 2000) *

, ''The Luxury of Guessing'' (AudioQuest, 1995) *

, '' Blackstar'' (Columbia, 2015) *

, ''A Girl Name Joe'' (Fresh Sound, 1998) * Gerald Cleaver, ''Adjust'' (Fresh Sound, 2001) *

Dave's True Story Dave's True Story was an American jazz-pop group consisting of Kelly Flint on vocals, David Cantor on guitar, and Jeff Eyrich on bass. They were known for Cantor's witty, risqué lyrics contrasted with Flint's warm, delicate voice. Cantor, from Qu ...

, ''Sex Without Bodies'' (Chesky, 1998) * Yelena Eckemoff, ''Better Than Gold and Silver'' (L&H, 2018) *

, ''Currents'' (Double-Time, 1998) * Drew Gress, ''Heyday'' (Soul Note, 1998) *

Nikolaj Hess Nikolaj Hess is a Danish jazz pianist, composer, producer and arranger. Biography Nikolaj Hess won the gold prize in the ''"Berlingske Tidendes"'' competition of non-classical music in Copenhagen and won the category for best European jazz piano ...

, ''Global Motion +'' (Stunt, 2010) * John Hollenbeck, ''No Images'' (Composers Recordings, 2001) * Ingrid Jensen, ''Infinitude'' (Whirlwind, 2016) *

, ''Right Brain Patrol'' (JMT, 1992) *

, ''Noumena'' (Soul Note, 2000) * Steve LaSpina, ''Distant Dream'' (Steeplechase, 1998) * Rebecca Martin, ''People Behave Like Ballads'' (Maxjazz, 2004) * Dan McCarthy, ''Epoch'' (Origin, 2019) *

Francisco Mela Francisco Jose Mela is a Cuban drummer and percussionist who has performed with a wide array of prominent international Latin and jazz artists including Kenny Barron, Gary Bartz, JoAnne Brackeen, Jane Bunnett, Regina Carter, Anat Cohen, Pa ...

, ''Tree of Life'' (Half Note, 2011) * Andy Milne, ''Forward in All Directions'' (Contrology 2014) * Andy Milne, ''The Seasons of Being'' (Sunnyside, 2018) * Dave Pietro, ''Forgotten Dreams'' (A Records, 1994) *

Mika Pohjola Mika Pohjola ( (born December 1, 1971) is a Finnish-born jazz pianist and composer who resides in Stockholm. He is one of the most prolific Scandinavian jazz musicians in his generation. Biography Childhood in Helsinki, Finland 1971-87 Mika ...

, ''Landmark'' (Abovoice, 2002) * Mika Pohjola, ''Northern Sunrise'' (BlueMusicGroup 2009) * Bruno Raberg, ''Lifelines'' (Orbis Music, 2008) * Tim Ries, ''Alternate Side'' (Criss Cross, 2001) * Tim Ries, ''The Rolling Stones Project'' (Concord, 2005) *

, ''Do The Hate Laugh Shimmy'' (Fresh Sound, 2008) * Josh Roseman, ''Cherry'' (Enja, 2000) * Josh Roseman, ''Treats for the Nightwalker'' (Enja, 2003) * Kendra Shank, ''A Spirit Free: Abbey Lincoln Songbook'' (Challenge, 2006) * Kendra Shank, ''Mosaic'' (Challenge, 2009) *

Jeremy Udden Jeremy Udden (born April 29, 1978) is an American musician, composer, and educator. Proficient in both the Alto and Soprano Saxophone, Udden also composes songs for his groups, ''Plainville'' and ''Torchsongs Trio''. His most notable albums from the ...

, ''Torchsongs'' (Fresh Sound, 2006) * Andre White, ''Signal'' (Cornerstone, 2000) * Miguel Zenon, ''Looking Forward'' (Fresh Sound, 2001)

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monder, Ben 1962 births Living people Guitarists from New York City University of Miami alumni American jazz guitarists Avant-garde jazz musicians Arabesque Records artists 20th-century American guitarists Jazz musicians from New York (state) Octurn members Sunnyside Records artists