Barry lives, works and records in Atlantic City, NJ.
A multi-instrumentalist composer, singer, arranger,
producer and teacher, Barry was inspired by his musician
father, Herbert Bender, who died when Barry was 16.
Herbert was a pioneer in the 60’s and 70’s creating live
bands to perform at private affairs. Although Barry
began playing music at age five, he didn’t begin his
music career until after the death of his father in 1973.
Barry studied music in college, playing mostly jazz
while listening to and being inspired by popular artists of
the day like The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Leonard
Cohen, Frank Zappa, and Jefferson Airplane. Barry’s
current music, self-described as “100% original, organic,
hand-made with a message” is a rich composite of
classical/jazz theory and the heartfelt folk-rock influence
of the 60’s and 70’s.
The release of his first album, Life (and Jade) in
2006 was a major milestone in Barry’s 30-year music
career and a true family affair. Barry’s daughters Leah
and Hillary Bender played important parts in inspiring,
and helping to create songs for the album, his wife
Jennifer O’Dell created the cover artwork, and his sister
Stacey Bender-Hammerling used her public relations
expertise to ensure the album’s success.
Today, Barry continues to write, play and record at
his home studio while teaching accounting, finance and
management at several local universities as well as
maintaining his own private CPA practice. He hopes to
release a second album - Degrees of Freedom - in the
near future.
Article from The Journal of Accountancy - July 2006
One Sax-y CPA
SPOTLIGHT
t’s a well-known fact that children who are talented in music also tend
to be great in math. So Barry Bender surely is not the only CPA who has
two master’s degrees, one in music and one in accounting. This March he
got the opportunity to work on both of his favorite subjects, as he
split his time between finishing up clients’ tax returns and fulfilling
his dream of producing and releasing an album of his own.
Like fellow musical CPA Kenny G, Bender considers himself a saxophone player—though he also plays keyboard, guitar, bass and drums when he’s not teaching accounting and business at Rowan University and Richard Stockton College in New Jersey. And while “Life (and Jade)” has not yet made it to the top of the charts, Bender isn’t looking for fame. He’s donating all proceeds from the album to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in honor of a stricken friend.
“As an accountant I know that if I factor in all the courses I’ve taken and the instruments I’ve bought”—not to mention the full recording studio in his basement—“music is not a money-making proposition. I definitely have a debit balance in my music equity account,” he says. “But for me, it’s about being creative and having fun.”
—Cheryl Rosen
