I first caught the trio version of this group at Dazzle in Denver, CO.  They have since just come out with their debut album “Now vs. Now”.  The group was started and is lead by pianist Jason Lindner and includes Panagiotis Andreou (bass and vocals) and phenomenal drummer out of NY, Mark Guiliana.  They quote their sound as being “garage jazz”, what it is is FREAKING AWESOME.  They are joined by a host of other musicians, but most notably by trumpet player Avishai Cohen (not the same as the bass player) and emcee/spoken-word-artist Baba Israel.  The first project I heard of Jason Lindner’s was his big band album, Jason Lindner Big Band: Live at the Jazz Gallery which, for anyone interested in contemporary jazz arranging, is a must have.  I was unprepared to say the least when I showed up to hear this group at Dazzle.  I walked in, shoving past the giant red curtain that separates what feels like a jazz heaven from the rest of the world.  Everyone was sitting, just looking exhausted after the first set; I discovered why during the second.  This group takes you on a musical journey like no other.  This had to be one of the top 15 shows that I’ve seen to date.  Their debut album has a host of guests including Avishai and Baba, but also Anat Cohen, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Yosvany Terry, and Meshell Ndegeocello.

I had the amazing opportunity this past July to attend a week long workshop at SIM in Brooklyn with one of my all-time FAVORITE bands, Kneebody.  This is a group that combines aspects of jazz, hip-hop, indie rock, and pretty much anything else you could throw into the pot.  They are all extremely versatile, individualized, and continuously creative musicians that when their powers combine turn into one of the best musical groups around today.

The band members are:

• Ben Wendel – Saxophone/Bassoon/Effects
• Shane Endsley – Trumpet & Effects
• Adam Benjamin – Rhodes/Piano/Effects
• Kaveh Rastegar – Bass & Effects
• Nate Wood – Drums & Symbols

The band’s discography spans four albums with a 5th, their 3rd studio album, expected in Spring 2010:

• Kneebody
• Low Electrical Worker
• Live Volume 1
• Live Volume 2

The group also appears on two other albums:

• A Jazz Life – Tony Scott & Kneebody
• 12 Songs by Charles Ives – Theo Bleck & Kneebody

You can expect to see a couple more videos of this band up here.  Feel free to click on the links to check out or buy any of the music listed here.  Stay tuned for more Kneebody news.