The musical group Bendrethegiant is a melodic, jazz-funk fusion musical visionary. The band consists of six members: Avery Scanlon (guitar), Eli Hansen (Bass), Ben Harris (Saxophone), Delos Erickson (Keys), Nate Hansen (Drums), and the face of the group Bendre on vocals. It was clear from the beginning that this group had amazing chemistry and their artistry was through the roof.
About three years ago, Bendre began making music while living in Seattle. In 2023, he moved to Eugene where he reconnected with his old friend from high school, Delos Erikson, who was finishing his last year at the University of Oregon School of Music. They began playing together, and Erikson started to help Bendre write out some of his songs, that’s when they decided to create/join a band. Erikson, who had worked on a project with Eli and Nate Hansen, brought them in to work on this project as well and help make music. They connected with different musicians involved in Jazz Studies at UO and started playing all together.
They began performing together with their first show being in Roseburg, Oregon, and quickly started moving towards the Portland and Eugene music scene. They have now been together for a little over a year. When asked about the genre of their music, the group described their sound as neo-soul pop, with influences of jazz and funk, and mentioned that they tend to genre hop. The group has very successfully found the perfect sound to encapsulate this broad genre that they described.
The group emphasized to me that their main goal with their music is to just be themselves and to have fun doing what they love. “The idea of being yourself and just seeing how it sells…just being yourself and being boldly silly or stupid…and just individuality,” said Avery Scanlon when asked about the group's mission statement. It is clear that this group feels the freedom to make whatever kind of music they want, which comes across very strongly when they are performing, “the end goal is to create this dream music scenario that we’re like this is cool we get to do this, and we get to craft it ourselves pretty independently,” said Erikson.
The band just released their new EP “Wading In The Deep End,” on March 7, 2025, and played a couple of the songs during their Live Session at the KWVA station on Sunday, March 2, 2025. The band began their live session with their song “I Probably Shouldn’t Be Here,” which immediately set the vibe of a mellow jazz fusion blend. It was clear immediately the expertise that each of these musicians held. The second song they played “Msn u,” was similar to the first one with a jazz influence, and the vocals stood out very strongly. Their arrangement during the live session blended the saxophone in, and the scatting really tied it into the jazz feeling.
The fourth song they played was “Nobody Knows,” off their new EP. This one really incorporated guitar and blended the instruments seamlessly with the vocals from Bendre. The saxophone also plays a beautiful role in this song making it feel very well rounded. This arrangement also holds space for an instrumental solo that makes for a very mellow feeling during the song. The next track they played was “Doyourememberme,” which made the guitar stand out, as well as a fun moment where keys came through and complemented the guitar very well. Their next song, “Don’t Wake Me,” was the standout song of their live session. This song began with a beautiful piano intro that was unlike any other setup they had played yet and really tied into jazz influences. The song then switched into a wonderful array of all instruments included as well as a very well-executed mash with the vocals, and perfectly encapsulated the freedom and creativity that this band explained was their ultimate goal as artists.
Bendrethegiant ended their session with another song off their new EP, “Homeless,” a melodic somewhat eerie ballad that was the perfect conclusion to their set. If you are interested in listening to their latest EP, “Wading In The Deep End,” as well as their other released music, you can find them on all streaming platforms under Bendrethegiant.