“There isn’t a handy term of genre for the music that Kneebody creates. It’s a band thoroughly acquainted with 1960s free-bop, 1970s jazz rock, 1990s hip-hop and postmillennial indie rock; along with classical postminimalism. (I’m leaving something out, I’m sure.) Whatever the terminology, this group has an audience...”
The New York Times
“Putting a finger on a band like Kneebody is a bit like raising it to the wind. At any given moment, the group's artistic inclinations can whip in an unpredictable direction.”
Wall Street Journal
“…the band has always had the same lineup, honing its vision into something that hovers in the worlds of jazz and rock while tossing in other genre elements, as well.”
Spinner
“It’s probably safe to assume at this point that no other band working today can offer what Kneebody delivered at the Blue Whale on Friday night.”
Los Angeles Times
Kneebody's sound is... explosive rock energy paralleled with high-level nuanced chamber ensemble playing, with highly wrought compositions that are balanced with adventurous no-holds-barred improvising. All "sounds-like" references can be set aside; this band has created a genre and style all its own.
Kneebody bassist Kaveh Rastegar thinks of their sound this way, “Personally, I think calling Kneebody "jazz" or "electric jazz" is fantastic because then we can move on from that hang up and play our music -- and alter expectations of what ‘jazz’ is.”
Kneebody is keyboardist Adam Benjamin, trumpeter Shane Endsley, electric bassist Kaveh Rastegar, saxophonist Ben Wendel and drummer Nate Wood. The band has no leader or rather, each member is the leader; they’ve developed their own musical language, inventing a unique cueing system that allows them each to change the tempo, key, style, and more in an instant.
The quintet met in their late teens while at The Eastman School of Music and Cal Arts, became fast friends, and converged together as Kneebody amid the vibrant and eclectic music scene of Los Angeles in 2001. Since then, each band member has amassed an impressive list of credits and accomplishments over the years all while the band has continued to thrive and grow in reputation, solidifying a fan base around the world.
“We are a democratic, equally owned-and-operated band with shared leadership,” says Shane Endsley. “Everyone brings in music and everyone votes on everything. And it’s always been just the five of us.”
Kneebody draws upon influences spanning D’Angelo’s Voodoo to music by Elliot Smith, Bill Frisell, and Miles Davis. Their live shows are known for intense sonic landscapes of the Radiohead ilk, for the rhythmic bombast of a Squarepusher or Queens of the Stone Age show, and the harmonic depth and improvisational freedom experienced at a Brad Mehldau concert.
ABOUT THE ALBUM
The Line opens with a dark rock tune titled “Lowell,” then moves to a lighter mood with Cha Cha, a contrapuntal number with an engaging swing beat. Adam Benjamin reveals, “I wrote “Lowell” at the Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada. There was a weird late 10:30 p.m. golden sunset happening and I wanted to write something simple and dark.”
The mood lightens with “Cha-Cha,” a song with fervent jazz tones that blend The Meters, Wayne Shorter, and Peter Gabriel. Shane Endsley says, “Most of our writing and improvising is either blazingly fast or suspensefully slow. This one is our cha-cha.” The first section is an interplay between three rhythmic parts. It opens up gradually through many repeats and then releases into some big chords and a sing-along melody.
Described by the New York Times as presenting “WTF grooves,” Kneebody lives up to this phrase with the third track, “Trite.” Ben Wendel says, “Years ago Nate and I heard the album Google Plex featuring a drummer named Deantoni Parks. He was the first person I heard mimic hyper-fast drum and bass beats with no help or extra production. “Trite” is loosely inspired by the energy and aesthetic of that album.”
“Kaveh is usually the one who brings in something haunting, simple, and beautiful. ‘Sleeveless’ is my attempt at ghostwriting for him,” quips Endsley. “Sleeveless” is like molasses; slow-moving with dark undertones.
“Still Play” was originally written for pianist Dan Tepfer. “On rare occasions, there are tunes I think work for Kneebody even though they come from a completely different project,” says Wendel. “This happened on our last album with ‘No Thank You Mr.West’ which was originally recorded on my first solo album. It’s been fun to have a twisty, technically challenging horn line in our repertoire. Shane and I feel equal parts, fear and excitement, every time we play this tune.”
The title track from the album, “The Line,” is hard-hitting, embracing the rock energy of the band. Written by Wendel with the different players in mind, the record is dense - full of distortion and power - giving voice to the full breadth of the band.
Rastegar wrote “E and E,” a lush, improvised intro to “Pushed Away” with three basses. The intro piece is dedicated to his two daughters Emilia and Elena. “I wrote ‘Pushed Away’ on guitar and made the demo with drums, bass and guitar and sang a melody over the top of it,” says Kaveh Rastegar. “The melody at the time was more or less temporary. When I showed it to the band, it felt like more of a sketch. But I ended up liking the melody I sang and I really liked having Shane and Ben play it in that understated way which created an overall proud but dark feeling sound.”
“Work Hard, Play Hard, Towel Hard is a tribute to those of us who don't want to dial it down. Our days and nights are full of fast talking and extreme sports,” says Benjamin. “We're all in -- dominating the business meeting, ruling the road on the commute home, and toweling off with vigor and fervor and zeal and gusto after our super-fast showers. The inevitable microdermabrasion is the price we pay.”
‘Greenblatt’ is a song about open space and subtle transformations,” says Benjamin. The lighthearted title misleads -- the piece is exotic, sensuous, with alternating hard and soft lines and textures.
The idea for “What Was” came to Wendel while he was shopping. “I was shopping at Trader Joe’s and suddenly became that guy singing into his iPhone like a crazy person. The chords came next. I wanted to write a melody that couldn’t really be notated – it just floats and is played differently each time.”
Manifesting their industrious indie rock side, the final piece on the album is “Ready Set Go” by Wendel and was written while the band was teaching at the Banff Centre. “It was one of those rare periods where we had time to learn a tune together in a relaxed atmosphere,” explains Wendel. “I love that such a heavy, loud tune was created in such a beautiful and serene location.”
In 2005, Kneebody released their debut self-titled album Kneebody on Dave Douglas’ Greenleaf Music Label. Low Electrical Worker followed in 2007 on the Colortone Label. A collection of 13 original songs, Low Electrical Worker was hailed by saxophonist Joshua Redman as one of his “favorite albums of 2007.” In the spring of 2009, Kneebody and vocalist Theo Bleckmann released 12 Songs of Charles Ives on the Winter & Winter label and received a GRAMMY nomination in the “classical crossover” category. Their third studio album is You Can Have Your Moment. Kneebody makes their Concord Records debut with the release of their fourth album, The Line.