Ben Monder - Planetarium

September 23, 2024

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2024

Personnel - Ben Monder: guitar; Chris Tordini: bass; Ted Poor: drums; Satoshi Takeishi: drums; Theo Bleckmann: vocals; Charlotte Mundy: vocals; Emily Hurst: vocals; Joseph Branciforte: drums; Theo Sable: vocals.

Ben Monder, a masterful guitar genius known for pushing the boundaries of modern composition, delivers yet another tour de force with Planetarium, a triple-disc project that spans a decade and took three years to record. has the capacity to delight no matter which direction he takes. Monder, whose stylistic range encompasses jazz, modern classical, heavy metal, and alternative rock, weaves together intricate compositions filled with richly detailed juxtapositions and subtly shifting moods. While dense and featuring extended tracks, the album is a rewarding listen, demanding and deserving of your time and attention.

The composer finds hidden strengths with his guests in several pieces, starting with the brilliant opener, “Ouroboros II”. This composition seems to have prog-rock and metal undertones, with the elegant and enigmatic fingerpicking sound of Monder reaching grandiose heights. Charlotte Mundy’s ethereal vocal layers provide a striking counterpoint, while Satoshi Takeishi’s percussion work enhances the contemporary sonic landscape.

Two standout tracks, the 23-minute epic “The Mentaculus” and the nostalgic “1973” feature bassist Chris Tordini and drummer Ted Poor, whose tight interaction is arresting and supportive. “The Mentaculus” is a masterclass in complexity and emotion, blending elements of sadcore and alternative rock into cutting-edge crossovers with shifting meters and rich pulses and ambiances. “1973” takes its gravitational pull from Poor’s methodic backbeat over which a churning guitar riff and the inimitable voice of Theo Bleckmann are placed. The style here takes me to the post-space-rock of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

Bleckmann also shines on “Li Po”, named after a Chinese poet, where his visceral, guttural vocals cut through dark, distorted atmospheres and eerie tones. The title track, a solo guitar performance, comes wrapped in an optimistic, gentle aura, while “Ataraxia” features acoustic guitar oozing bright constellations of notes, the soaring voice of Bleckmann—stratified in different registers—and the drumming of co-producer Joseph Branciforte. This long-form piece gains momentum as Monder’s electric guitar solo unspools.

“Globestructures - Option II” is a fantasy inspired by Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel The Unconsoled, offering a great harmonic atmosphere with pedals and guitar harmonics, and “Ouroboros I”, a chameleonic duet with Takeishi, moves from modern lyricism to experimental rock to dark atmospheric corners. “Noctivagant” is a melancholy sleepwalk, with Monder’s acoustic guitar setting the tone, while “Collinsport”, featuring the voices of Bleckmann and Emily Hurst, investigates sound with a blend of curiosity, caution, and determination. The standard “Wayfarer Stranger”, with Monder on baritone guitar accompanying a recording of his mother singing, closes out the album in style.

Planetarium is pure musical flow, another impressive entry to the guitarist’s already formidable list of personal accomplishments.

Favorite Tracks:
01 (CD1) - Ouroboros II ► 02 (CD1) - The Mentaculus ► 02 (CD2) - Ataraxia ► 03 (CD3) - Ouroboros I

Randal Despommier - A Midsummer Odyssey feat. Ben Monder

July 12, 2022

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2022

Personnel - Randal Despommier: alto saxophone; Ben Monder: guitar.

Randal Despommier, an up-and-coming saxophonist born in New Orleans and based in New York, teams up with guitarist Ben Monder in a rich duo album that comprises nine interpretations of tunes by Swedish baritonist Lars Gullin. A Midsummer Odyssey is the second collaboration between the saxophonist and the guitarist, following their involvement in the former’s debut album Dio C’è (Outside in Music, 2021), which was put together in a sextet configuration.

The lead-off track is the peculiarly titled “Toka Voka Oka Boka”, which brings a strong sense of Swedish folk and classical poetry in the melody, an atypical time feel, and a gorgeous rock twang in the texture. The capacity for hooking listeners with their tasteful lyricism is present again on “Danny’s Dream”, a ballad written for Gullin’s son, which, despite being more conventional in sound, is subjected to a lush harmonization by Monder. It was thanks to this piece that Despommier first had contact with Gullin’s music in 2005 while studying in Perugia, Italy.

The rubato minor mood of “Mazurka” strikes a perfect balance of wistfulness and comfort. The original piece, included in Gullin’s 1974 album Bluesport, was partly inspired by Chopin. The beautiful sense of melody and storytelling continues with “Dyningar”, a shimmering waltz with an occasional understated touch of bossa nova in the solo guitar section. This Brazilian-derived style is taken further by the radiant “I Min Smala Sang”, which was originally written to accompany a poem by Dutch-born Swedish troubadour Cornelis Vreeswijk.

“I Hope It’s Spring For You” is another well known tune in Sweden due to its linkage to a popular TV series for which it was written. Charlie Parker’s common-law wife, Chan Parker, wrote the lyrics in the ‘70s, but this instrumental version verges on the balladic side, consistent with Monder’s textural moves and Despommier’s sailing facility over the tranquil harmonic seas. The duo also brings their finely-honed telepathy into “Igloo”, whose theme is played in bright unison with some descendant triplets in a fully-colored swinging jazz style. There's more incantation than agitation here.

Despite their distinct personalities, Despommier and Monder pair up very well as they take on the chosen Gullin repertoire with acumen and serenity.

Favorite Tracks:
01 - Toka Voka Oka Boka ► 05 - Mazurka ► 06 - Dyningar

Ben Monder / Tony Malaby / Tom Rainey - Live at the 55 Bar

February 9, 2021

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2020

Personnel - Ben Monder: guitar; Tony Malaby: tenor and soprano saxophones; Tom Rainey: drums.

Theoretically, if you have the outstanding guitarist Ben Monder, the inquisitive saxophonist Tony Malaby and the idiosyncratic drummer Tom Rainey playing in the same group, the music has to be awesome. That prognostic is confirmed on this fully-improvised recording captured live last year at the iconic New York venue 55 Bar. The immersive session consists of a long-form three-part suite so-called 3320, which alludes to the date it was performed, March 3rd, 2020.

The finely structured piece takes us to the musicians' recondite and enigmatic sonic world, where light and darkness nail down a deal. Developed with extraordinary intuition, the moods are predominantly foreboding but also catchily obsessive, overcast with gravitas and power alike.

Monder infuses the chorded passages with perplexing sounds and colors, sometimes soaring in suspension with short bursts of light after rising from the occult and the underground. Malaby is often expansive and infectious in his subterranean statements, which sometimes take the form of agonizing, full-throated growls. The tempo is not what certainly matters here, and Rainey is pleased about that, given that he always appreciated freedom and keeps breathing freedom in his playing. His mindfulness and balance help keep things together, whether his rhythmic patchwork is infused with snare drum swirls that cut like knives, high-strung pulses of considerable complexity, or sensitive brushwork that underlines space as opposed to density.

The first part of the suite runs for nearly 17 minutes; the second lasts over 29; and the third, keeping the close interplay but delivered with speed and stamina, adds about 15 minutes more for a total of one whole hour of music. While navigating a marvel of harmonic rivers and unique textures, the group embraces free improvisation with occasional goth and doom metal influences, and the constant ebb and flow in their explorations contribute for a gray state of incertitude and amazement.

Favorite Tracks:
02 - Suite 3320: Part II ► 03 - Suite 3320: Part III

Ben Monder - Day After Day

April 9, 2019

Label: Sunnyside Records, 2019

Personnel - Ben Monder: electric and acoustic guitars; Matt Brewer: bass; Ted Poor: drums.

Guitarist Ben Monder is equally comfortable in straightforward and subversive settings. His playing is sparkling and his efficiency, remarkable. The double-album Day After Day offers a wide-ranging collection of esteemed non-original songs interpreted in solo and trio formats. Joining him in the latter context are bassist Matt Brewer and drummer Ted Poor.

Disc one features a solitary Monder in absolute control of the instrument and exhibiting unparalleled sounds fertile in bright introspective textures. The sonic propagations of “Dreamsville” are rich, relaxed, and full in color. Effortlessly operating in several octaves, the guitarist embraces fluidity, combining wise harmonic concepts with carefully built melodies.

The concurrent movements on “Emily”, a tune popularized by Bill Evans, are mesmerizing. Bringing out his classical influences, Monder integrates melody and bass lines with perspicacity, demonstrating advanced performing expertise. In this particular case, he proves that complexity is not incompatible with beauty, stressing a suggestive metronomic line with a subtle percussive touch in the last minute of the song.

The transparency and enlightenment of “O Sacrum Convivium”, a choral wonder by the 20th-century composer Olivier Messiaen, obfuscate us with warm beams of light. Yet, it’s the standard “My One And Only Love” that most clearly shows that miraculous voice-leading control, replete of surprising note choices. Monder also luxuriates in dashing sonorities on another balladic standard, “Never Let Me Go” as well as on the ever-evolving version of Burt Bacharach’s “The Windows of the World”.

Over the course of the second disc, the guitar is center-place, leading the bass and drums into adventurous paths characterized by different moods and genres. Still, two songs are bass-less: The Beatles’ “Long Long Long”, a 3/4 song that draws some ambiguity from the virtuosic fingerpicking, and the opaque experimentation on the title cut, a song from the early ’70s, whose dark waves cause a dystopian sensation. The bandleader’s relationship with hard rock music is not a novelty, and the 007 theme “Goldfinger” is a showcase for his prodigious metal technique.

The casual country pop of Jimmy Webb’s “Galveston” opens the record with a convivial posture, culminating in a speedy guitar solo pronounced with distortion. However, it’s the emotionally charged “Dust”, a great contemporary rock song by The Fleetwood Mac that strikes with awe, featuring Monder on acoustic guitar and Brewer in an inspired bass solo.

Bread’s “The Guitar Man” is a soft-rock song designed with bluesy dotted notes and carrying something of Bob Dylan, who is also paid tribute here with a suave rendition of “Just Like a Woman”.

Regardless of the nature of the songs, Monder has a personal and tasteful approach to the music. His versatility and dedication are impressive and this accessible double album invites you to experience a fraction of his immensely creative mind.

Favorite Tracks:
02 (disc1) - Emily ► 03 (disc1) - O Sacrum Convivium ► 02 (disc2) - Dust