The Cornelia Street Café Hosts Ben Monder & Bill McHenry and The Cellar & Point, 6/17

The Cornelia Street Café (29 Cornelia St.) hosts Ben Monder and Bill McHenry as well as The Cellar and Point tonight, June 17th, at 8:30 p.m. Cover is $10. For more information, please call 212-989-9319 or visit www.corneliastreetcafe.com.

Ben Monder, on guitar, and Bill McHenry, on saxophone, starts the night exploring ideas as they did on their 2009 album, "Bloom."

A musician in the New York area for 25 years, Monder has performed with a variety of artists, including Jack McDuff, Marc Johnson, Lee Konitz, George Garzone, Tim Berne, and Kenny Wheeler. He is a regular member of the Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra and the Paul Motian Octet, as well as many other projects. He has conducted clinics and workshops around the world, and served on the faculty of the New England Conservatory from 2002-2005. Ben continues to perform original music internationally with his own quartet, trio, and in a duo project with vocalist Theo Bleckmann. He has appeared on over 100 CDs as a sideman, and has released 4 as a leader: Flux (1995), Dust (1997), Excavation (2000), and Oceana (2005). More information can be found at his website: www.benmonder.com

McHenry was born in Maine in 1972. Since 1992 he lived mostly in Brooklyn, NY and a couple times in Barcelona, Spain. He has five solo CDs: Rest Stop (1997), Graphic (1998), Featuring Paul Motian (2002), Sonic Pressure (2006), and Roses (2007). As a sideman, he also recorded with Reid Anderson, Rebecca Martin, Guillermo Klein, Chris Lightcap, Joe Smith, Norah Jones and Ben Waltzer. He first learned music from his mother and later his first saxophone teacher was David Demsey. He attended Interlochen Arts Academy and the New England Conservatory. More information can be found at his website: www.myspace.com/billmchenry

Young composer-performers Joseph Branciforte (drums) and Chris Botta (guitar) have assembled an unlikely cross-section of NYC talent to perform their "garage-chamber" compositions. Joining forces with iconoclastic improvisers Matt Moran of the Claudia Quintet (vibraphone) and James Ilgenfritz (bass) and powerhouse modern classical performers Chris Otto, and Kevin McFarland of the JACK quartet (violin and cello), their musical universe comprises the detail of modern classical music, the energy of alt-rock, and the improvisational sensibilities of downtown jazz. More information can be found at their website: www.myspace.com/thecellarandpoint