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Benny Benack III

At the age of 28, Pittsburgh-born, New York-based Jazz trumpeter & singer Benny Benack III has quickly established himself as one of the most versatile and virtuosic voices of his generation. Hailed by the New York Times as “a charismatic young trumpeter who maintains an earnest sideline as a singer”, Benack has a knack for delighting audiences with panache, in the spirit of classic crooners like Sinatra & Mel Tormé, with a nod to legendary trumpet showmen Louis Armstrong & Dizzy Gillespie.

Equally comfortable in both Jazz and Pop settings, Benack has worked with some of the greatest acts in music today, touring domestically as a trumpet soloist with Josh Groban, Ben Folds, fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi, as well as European engagements with Jazz Bass extraordinaire Christian McBride. He recently headlined Birdland Jazz Club alongside Cabaret legend Ann Hampton-Callaway, in tribute to “Louis & Ella”. Benny's been a guest artist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Orchestra, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, the Minsk Philharmonic Orchestra, featured both as a vocalist and trumpeter with each ensemble.

In the Fall of 2017, Benack released his debut album “One of a Kind” to critical acclaim, noting he “reels off songs that come alive with his lustrous trumpet and golden bari-tenor vocalastics” - World Music Report. On the heels of his album’s worldwide success, Benack maintains an active touring schedule internationally, most recently bringing his band to Shanghai on behalf of Jazz @ Lincoln Center, helping to open their new flagship club there. When at home in NYC, he can be found in residency both at Mezzrow Jazz Club in the West Village, and at the iconic Carlyle Hotel, performing in Bemelmen’s Bar with his trio, where Benack showcases yet another talent by accompanying his own vocals on the piano as well.

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Album Review

Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y: A New Beat

Read "A New Beat" reviewed by Jack Bowers


The rhythms presented on award-winning drummer Ulysses Owens Jr.'s latest album are not exactly A New Beat, as they have been heard in various configurations for at least eighty years or more, but they do provide a plausible indication of the path that Art Blakey's legendary Jazz Messengers would presumably have followed had Blakey lived into the twenty-first century. Owens, who teaches at the Juilliard School in New York City, has a knack for spotting and encouraging ...

13
Album Review

Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y: A New Beat

Read "A New Beat" reviewed by Glenn Astarita


A New Beat, crafted by the multi-Grammy award-winning drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. and his Generation Y outfit, materializes as a vivid emblem of jazz's evolving dynamics. This album, an amalgamation of nine tracks, epitomizes the fusion of classic jazz standards with inventive perspectives. Among its highlights, “Bird Lives" notably shines for its technical brilliance and tribute to jazz icons, striking a harmonious balance between honoring the past and embracing the new. This track, alongside the production's repertoire, demonstrates the ensemble's ...

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Take Five With...

Take Five with Benny Benack III

Read "Take Five with Benny Benack III" reviewed by AAJ Staff


Meet Benny Benack III By age 32, Emmy-nominated trumpeter and vocalist Benny Benack III has already become a leading voice in jazz for his generation, while his trademark ebullience onstage assures his audiences he's got “A Lot of Livin' to Do" still to come! His sophomore album sharing that title featured the likes of bass luminary Christian McBride and drummer/producer Ulysses Owens Jr. and even achieved viral online fame with his vocalese rendition of “Social Call" ft. Veronica ...

23
Album Review

Benny Benack III: Third Time's The Charm

Read "Third Time's The Charm" reviewed by Jack Bowers


While it remains to be seen whether rising star Benny Benack III's third album as leader is a charm (that is up to the listener), it is definitely a charmer, with delightful turns by trumpeter (and vocalist) Benack and pianist Emmet Cohen complementing stellar performances by a number of well-known and talented guest artists. This is basically a quintet date (Benack, Cohen, tenor saxophonist Ruben Fox, bassist Russell Hall, drummer Kyle Poole) enriched by star turns along ...

3
Album Review

Benny Benack III: Third Time's The Charm

Read "Third Time's The Charm" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


Though the title of this third album from multihyphenate Benny Benack III might imply misfires with his first two go-rounds, the truth really runs contrary to that line of reasoning. One of a Kind (BB3, 2017), while flying under the radar, introduced some listeners to a talent far too large to be contained; and A Lot of Livin' To Do (La Reserve, 2020) proved to be a strong follow-up statement, earning greater attention and acclaim for a dashing leading man ...

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Album Review

Alexander Claffy: Good Spirits

Read "Good Spirits" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Bassist Alexander Claffy's quintet dashes from the starting gate on Good Spirits with a fiery reading of McCoy Tyner's propulsive “Inner Glimpse," setting the tone for a bright and animated session whose spirit is undeniably good. The album was recorded “live" (no audience) at GB's Juke Joint in New York City “at the height of the [coronavirus] pandemic" in February 2021. Claffy's front line consists of trumpeter Benny Benack III and tenor saxophonist Nicole Glover; his teammates ...

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Radio & Podcasts

Benny Benack III: Presentation matters

Read "Benny Benack III: Presentation matters" reviewed by Leo Sidran


Benny Benack III didn't necessarily start out thinking he would be a hipster crooner. He spent his 10,000 hours dealing with the trumpet, and he's still dealing with it. He tells me that he brings it with him everywhere--even on dates. He says, “Freddie Hubbard, Clifford Brown, Roy Hargrove, and Clark Terry were my early idols and everything about my musical identity is steeped in the trumpet vocabulary." Benny grew up in jny: Pittsburgh, the third in a ...

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Contest

The 7 Virtual Jazz Club Announces The Finalists Of The 9th Edition

The 7 Virtual Jazz Club Announces The Finalists Of The 9th Edition

Source: Valerio Pappi

The Web Community Prize (direct access to the final) has been awarded to the Polish group Quietet for the Under 25’s Category which presented the song Scand and to the Greek musician Thomas Mitrousis for the Pros & Amateurs’ Category which presented the song “Fax from Fux." Finalists selected by the judges (in alphabetical order): Amateurs & Pros’ Category Anthony Fung Quartet (USA) “The Kicker" Benny Benack III (USA) “Catching Drift" Chamber Jazz Consort (Netherlands) “Divertimento" Dialgo (Israel) “Mama and ...

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Recording

Trumpeter/ Vocalist Benny Benack III Debuts With Irrepressibly Swinging “One Of A Kind”

Trumpeter/ Vocalist Benny Benack III Debuts  With Irrepressibly Swinging “One Of A Kind”

Source: Two for the Show Media

Benack performs original songs and richly inventive arrangements with Emmet Cohen (piano), Alex Claffy (bass), Ulysses Owens, Jr. (drums), also guests Joel Frahm (tenor/soprano sax), Yotam Silberstein (guitar) Benny Benack III, a young and multi-talented Pittsburgh native and denizen of the New York jazz scene, is never one to limit himself. He is both an affable and expressive jazz singer and a formidable, modern-minded trumpeter, and these elements of his musical self are deeply and effortlessly intertwined. On One of ...

Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

A New Beat

Cellar Records
2024

buy

Third Time's The Charm

La Reserve/Bandstand Presents
2023

buy

Good Spirits

Cellar Records
2022

buy

I'm All Smiles

@DominiqueBianco2022
2022

buy

Kinetic

Outside in Music
2021

buy

Soul Conversations

Outside in Music
2021

buy

Videos

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