International premiere of a unique project by star saxophonist from New York, in collaboration with Ruben van Leer.
Ben Wendel composition & saxophone, Ruben van Leer direction, Alice Godfrey dance, Lukáš Timulak choreography, Tiemen Rapati scenography, Wes Broersen audiovisual design, Bastiaan Grisèl software, Annemarije van Harten costume designer.
Jazz is a constant search for new forms of conversation. In the REFLEX series we invite makers to reflect on the world and its society. We have invited star saxophonist Ben Wendel to this new concert in the series.
For REFLEX, Ben Wendel, together with director Ruben van Leer, has assembled an ambitious multidisciplinary project called SOL (Sound of Light). With the expertise of audiovisual artist Wes Broersen, choreographer Lukáš Timulak and scenography by Tiemen Rapati, the team has built an “immersive improv machine”, in which Wendel and dancer Alice Godfrey investigate how we interact with our body, nature, memory and trauma. The core of SOL consists of specially designed technology in which music, sound, light and movement are connected in real time. An interaction between solo saxophone, dance, video and an array of lasers. Members of this team have previously collaborated with The Black Eyed Peas, Coldplay, Massive Attack, Nederlands Dans Theater and United Visual Artists.
Ben Wendel is a versatile musician, who switches effortlessly from tenor sax to bassoon and from jazz to classical, funk or West Coast Hip-hop. The saxophonist from New York made a name for himself with the progressive band Kneebody, with which he received his first Grammy nomination. Recently Wendel just received a 2024 Grammy nomination for his latest album “All One”. In addition to big names from jazz such as Joshua Redman, Bill Frisell and Terence Blanchard, he collaborated with Prince, Snoop Dogg and producer/beatmaker Daedelus, among others. In recent years he launched ambitious projects such as The Seasons, a series of duets on KZread, and High Heart, in which he collaborates with contemporaries such as Michael Mayo, Gerald Clayton and Shai Maestro.
SOL is a production of Truth.io and Ben Wendel, created with the support of the Creative Industries Fund NL and the AFK. REFLEX is an in-house production of BIMHUIS Productions and was created with the support of Ammodo.