Home » Jazz Musicians » Benevento/Russo Duo

Benevento/Russo Duo

On the heels of their resounding ropeadope debut, “Best Reason to Buy the Sun,” the Benevento/Russo Duo continue to astound audiences and critics alike with their stellar interplay, defining hooks and immense sound. Marco Benevento (keys) and Joe Russo (drums) continue to defy expectations and categorization.

The Duo hit the road in March of 2005 in support of BRTBTS and haven’t rested since. Upon returning from a short promotional tour in Japan, they have been ubiquitous on the touring circuit, launching their new album at a capacity crowd showcase at South by Southwest and then continuing through the summer with slots on the Sasquatch Music Festival and Bonnaroo, to name a few. With audience expectations growing, Marco and Joe continued to introduce new compositions in the vein of such album cuts as “Sunny’s Song” and “Welcome Red”. One of these tunes, “Best Reason to Buy the Sun” highlights the strengths of this songwriting team which were hinted at on the album of the same name.

Benevento/Russo Duo embark on their largest tour to date this fall, in preparation of hitting the recording studio in early 2006 to tackle the follow up to BRTBTS. Armed with an increasingly impressive catalog, the band will hit every portion of the country between September and November. They will be joined by Drums & Tuba on the east coast dates. Beginning in late-September, Benevento/Russo Duo will be joined by LA-based indie-dance phenoms Something for Rockets for three weeks, in what promises to be an event.

Tags

926
Interview

Benevento/Russo Duo: Hero Rock, Mind-Reading and Constant Movement

Read "Benevento/Russo Duo: Hero Rock, Mind-Reading and Constant Movement" reviewed by Paul Olson


Could a band without a vocalist be the best rock band in America?Keyboardist Marco Benevento and drummer Joe Russo formed the Benevento/Russo Duo in 2002 in response to Russo being offered a Thursday night residency at the Knitting Factory, New York's still-iconic Downtown improv club. Although the two New-Jersey-raised players were still each well short of thirty, they'd been knocking around New York for several years already, playing countless gigs with all sorts of players. The motivation behind ...

308
Extended Analysis

Benevento/Russo Duo: Play Pause Stop

Read "Benevento/Russo Duo: Play Pause Stop" reviewed by Doug Collette


Benevento/Russo Duo Play Pause Stop Butter Problems/Reincarnate Music 2006

This new album from Marco Benevento and Joe Russo is less an innovation--for the Duo or for jazz at large--than an extension and refinement of what's preceded it. The keyboards and drums team succeed in capturing in a studio setting the spacious and expansive sound of their live performances. It's no small achievement. Benevento and Russo's chemistry remains vigorously in play and that's ...

304
Live Review

The Benevento/Russo Duo Live: What A Difference A Year Makes

Read "The Benevento/Russo Duo Live: What A Difference A Year Makes" reviewed by Doug Collette


The Benevento/Russo Duo Higher Ground South Burlington, Vermont April 8, 2006

It was exactly a year ago April 6th that Marco Benevento and Joe Russo appeared at Higher Ground in South Burlington to effectively celebrate the release of their breakthrough album, Best Reason to Buy the Sun (Ropeadope, 2005). Now it is 2006 and this is not the same duo.

But that's ultimately a good thing. Whether because they were playing to ...

118
Live Review

The Autumn of Their Year: The Benevento/Russo Duo Live

Read "The Autumn of Their Year: The Benevento/Russo Duo Live" reviewed by Doug Collette


Ya gotta love The Duo! Marco Benevento and Joe Russo obviously relish taking the stage and playing with each other for any audience that will come to see them. This early fall/late summer show, billed as a “Back to School concert was the largest audience the Duo have gotten at HG, and the late night finish, in part a result of two opening acts, was stretched by the appearance of guests that Benevento and Russo welcomed to the stage enthusiastically, ...

200
Album Review

Benevento/Russo Duo: Best Reason to Buy the Sun

Read "Best Reason to Buy the Sun" reviewed by Doug Collette


With their Ropeadope debut Marco Benevento and Joe Russo deliver a resounding sucker punch to listeners old and new alike. By bunching staples from live shows at the beginning of Best Reason to Buy the Sun (perhaps alienating confirmed aficionados), the Duo then heads into realms decidedly different along more conventional jazz lines.

“Becky" and “Vortex will sound eminently familiar to fans of the Duo and anyone who's attended one of their shows over the past few months, though markedly ...

228
Album Review

Benevento/Russo Duo: Best Reason to Buy the Sun

Read "Best Reason to Buy the Sun" reviewed by AAJ Staff


For two guys, Marco Benevento and Joe Russo make a lot of noise. They do this quite often--at home, on the road, whatever--nearly constantly for three years, ever since Russo signed on for a hundred dollars a week at the Knitting Factory back in 2002. Since then the twentysomething keys/drums duo has earned some notoriety in jam band circles for its energy and inventiveness in live performance, but it would be a mistake to lump these guys in any category, ...

147
Live Review

Art of The Duo: Benevento & Russo Live at Higher Ground

Read "Art of The Duo: Benevento & Russo Live at Higher Ground" reviewed by Doug Collette


With this, their fourth appearance in the greater Burlington area in less than a year(!), The Duo are rapidly becoming the darlings of the area music scene, but they're preparing to make a much larger impact than just Vermont's largest city: with a ballyhooed studio album set for release on Ropeadope Records in April and their cache enhanced by the increasingly frequent collaboration with former Phish bassist Mike Gordon (more about this later), Marco Benevento and Joe Russo are on ...

Read more articles
107

Performance / Tour

Benevento/Russo Duo Confirm Only 2010 Show

Benevento/Russo Duo Confirm Only 2010 Show

Source: JamBase


182

Performance / Tour

Benevento/Russo Duo Tour

Benevento/Russo Duo Tour

Source: JamBase

Benevento/Russo Duo Tour

Benevento/Russo Duo will perform a mini-tour down the East Coast this November.

Benevento/Russo Duo Tour Dates 11/06/09 Fri The Note West Chester, PA 11/07/09 Sat The 8X10 Baltimore, MD 11/09/09 Mon Boone Saloon Boone, NC 11/10/09 Tue The Garage at Biltmore Asheville, NC 11/11/09 Wed The Pour House Music Hall Raleigh, NC 11/12/09 Thu The Pour House Charleston, SC 11/14/09 Sat Bear Creek ...

131

Performance / Tour

Benevento/Russo Duo Special Outdoor Performance

Benevento/Russo Duo Special Outdoor Performance

Source: All About Jazz

Just wanted to spread the good word: The Benevento/Russo Duo, are coming to our very own 'hood! The venue, called The Yard, is a beautiful little spot parked on the border of Carroll Gardens and Park Slope: The Gowanus Canal. As you can see from the photos, The Yard is a delightful/bizarre mix of industrial and bucolic. I hope you get a chance to join us canal-side. Here are the details for the event: Benevento/Russo Duo @ The Yard June ...

145

Interview

Benevento/Russo Duo Interviewed at AAJ

Benevento/Russo Duo Interviewed at AAJ

Source: All About Jazz


145

Performance / Tour

Phil Lesh & Friends, Plus Trey Anastasio & Mike Gordon Featuring the Benevento/Russo Duo on Friday, June 30

Phil Lesh & Friends, Plus Trey Anastasio & Mike Gordon Featuring the Benevento/Russo Duo on Friday, June 30

Source: All About Jazz

Renowned for his three-decade stint as the bassist with the Grateful Dead, Phil Lesh proved a fan favorite as much for his distinctive jazz playing as for his single-minded devotion to the band, overseeing the quality of every legitimate release. He has issued two solo albums under Phil Lesh & Friends, a quintet that channels the Dead but utilizes only one drummer. His distinctive, wordy writing style, full of allusions, aphorisms, and wordplay, overlays an endearingly low-key jam sound. Listening ...

111

Performance / Tour

Henry Threadgill, Chris Lightcap, Claudia Quintet, Masada Rock, Benevento/Russo Duo Philadelphia Appearances in March

Henry Threadgill, Chris Lightcap, Claudia Quintet, Masada Rock, Benevento/Russo Duo Philadelphia Appearances in March

Source: All About Jazz

Wednesday, March 1 | 7pm SOULIVE + BENEVENTO/RUSSO DUO

Irvine Auditorium, 3401 Spruce Street Receive a substantial discount (you'll pay only $10/ticket) by requesting the “Ars Nova" discount at the Annenberg box office on the day of show. Arrive early!

Soulive's latest album, Break Out, is full of beat-driven instrumentals and dazzling collaborations with a host of exceptional artists, including Chaka Khan, Ivan Neville, Corey Glover (Living Color), Robert Randolph and Reggie Watts (Maktub). ...

Photos

Music

Videos

Similar

Skerik
saxophone
Marco Benevento
organ, Hammond B3
Jazz Mandolin Project
band / ensemble / orchestra
Umphrey's McGee
band / ensemble / orchestra
Garaj Mahal
band / ensemble / orchestra

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.