Marco Benevento
MARCO BENEVENTO TRIO Makes MINNEAPOLIS Debut
Supporting New Album
ME NOT ME
Available Now
On THE ROYAL POTATO FAMILY
Friday, April 10, the NPR “Song of the Day” is by Marco Benevento.
[...listen to it here...]
Hear him play it live on April 11 at the Dakota.
“Benevento swings between rude-synth fun and high-speed piano breaks as if he were both Keith Emerson and McCoy Tyner.” — Rolling Stone
“Benevento is actually a pop formalist, albeit a sneaky one, and, for all his improvisational chops, a textural minimalist very much in the tradition of Brian Eno or Sigur Ros. Chaos and chance are the calling cards, but his songs are always accessible.” — Village Voice
the 31-year old Brooklyn-based pianist will be leading his trio, which includes bassist Reed Mathis and drummer Simon Lott. It marks the group’s first appearance in the city.
The Los Angeles Times’ “Pop & Hiss” blog selected Marco Benevento as a “2009 Artist To Watch” in anticipation of Me Not Me. The ten-track collection, which debuted in the top five of the iTunes jazz and currently sits at no. 13 on the CMJ Jazz Chart, features Benevento interpreting the work of artists such as Deerhoof, Leonard Cohen, George Harrison and My Morning Jacket among others.
Marco Benevento, who first attracted national attention playing Hammond B-3 organ and Wurlitzer in The Benevento-Russo Duo, shifts the focus to acoustic piano for Me Not Me. Throughout the album he proves one of the most compelling pianists of his generation, re-imagining the instrument through guitar pickups, delay and distortion effects and a Fender Super Reverb Amp. He further shapes and shifts the aural depth of the recording by adding layers of Ace Tone drum machines, Farfisa, Optigan, Mellotron, tack piano and other unusual keyboards, while using circuit bent toys to bring to life the emotional character of the songs. Applying this approach to music and sound in the live setting, Marco Benevento and his band are guaranteed to deliver a fierce concoction of post jazz and experimental rock wrapped in a warm blanket of sonic textures.
Benevento, a veteran of the East Coast jam-band/avant-jazz circuit, is taking his jaw-dropping improvisational “sound-sculpting” keyboard skills around the world. His psychedelic, accessible sound is based on some deconstructed interpretations of indie rock favorites by My Morning Jacket and Deerhoof, while mixing in some Monk and original music, making genre boundaries a thing of the past altogether. His chameleonic acoustic piano will be ballasted by trio members Matt Chamberlain and Simon Lott.
MARCO BENEVENTO
Me Not Me
“Playful and charming” – The Stranger
“A must record for 2009.” – Amplifier
Read the features in:
San Francisco Chronicle / SF Weekly / Seattle Times / LA Times
“Keyboardist Marco Benevento takes a crack at covering rock acts both old (Led Zeppelin, George Harrison) and new (Deerhoof, My Morning Jacket). The results are often arresting.” – The New York Times
• Me Not Me promo video
• Marco Benevento “Bus Ride” live at Tonic
• “The Real Morning Party” video
There are no comments on this post.