Born: February 27, 1942 Primary Instrument: Clarinet
Richard Benetar Vocalist, Musician, Composer, Arranger
Brooklyn born, Richard Benetar first sang in public at the age of three, and hasn't stopped yet. Throughout grade and high school, Richard appeared in musical productions, and at the University of Pennsylvania, he entertained as part of the Mask & Wig company.
Following graduation from Penn, Richard began a career as at radio disc jockey, which lasted for eight years. In that time, he kept up his stage appearances in musicals, including starring as Sky Masterson in Guys & Dolls, at the historic Tapia theater in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
At the age of 30, Mr. Benetar “discovered” jazz, quit the radio business, moved to the west coast and started to teach himself clarinet and saxophone. He also began formal musical studies in theory and improvisation, earning an MA in Music from Hunter College in the early 1980's.
Since then, Richard has been entertaining and teaching across the US. In addition to leading his own groups, he has appeared with such greats as Clark Terry, Frank Foster, Ron Carter, Eddy Bert, Peggy Stern, Gil Parris, the Holmes Brothers and CJ Chenier.
Recently, Mr. Benetar released his second CD of standards, “jazz on the rocks”, featuring Tucson Arizona musicians, “Sly” Slipetsky on piano, Ed Delucia on guitar and Mike Levy on bass.
Mr. Benetar now makes his homes in Yonkers, NY and Tucson, AZ.
Primary Instrument:
Clarinet
Location:
Yonkers, NY
Willing to teach:
Intermediate to advanced students
