Ben Monder

Jazz Guitar

Biography

Ben studied music at Queens College and the University of Miami. After returning to New York in 1984, he spent most of his time working with R&B and wedding bands and practicing jazz in his room. His big break came in 1986 when Jack McDuff called him (personally!) to join his band “The Heatin’ System” for some extended road trips to the Midwest and West Coast.

Quotes

• "The "Ben Monder [has an] ability to create music that dazzles and delights with its impeccable craftsmanship, technical dexterity and way left-of-center originality.”
  - George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune
• "You know within about three seconds that something original is coming out of Ben Monder’s electric guitar — a whispering flow of harmonic challenges that fold backward, sideways and across dimensions like time-space origami...He’s like a magician who slows a trick down to ox-cart tempo, and you still can’t figure out how he did it.
  - Greg Burk, LA Weekly

Link

Artist Website