When I think of favorite overall musician these days, the first person that comes to my mind is Marco Benevento. The residency I saw this February at the Yoshi’s in Oakland are easily four of the best concerts I’ve seen all year, all for completely different reasons. And I was just constantly blown away at how versatile he is as a player, whether he’s playing his version of post-jazz at a swanky sushi-and-jazz club or fronting an all instrumental and jam-heavy Zeppelin cover band.
Some news dropped last week that Marco will be playing for the first time at the famed Carnegie Hall on June 20, supporting Jamie Cullum as the headliner. He also announced some more solo dates as well as dates with his trio, so he’s going to be making his way around the country this summer. I would recommend seeing him no matter what.
Marco Benevento Tour Dates
May 29 / Mountain Jam / Woodstock, NY
June 10 / The Keswick Theatre / Philadelphia, PA (w/ S.M.V.)
June 11 / The Stone / New York, NY (solo)
June 12 / Discover Jazz Festival / Burlington, VT
June 20 / Carnegie Hall / New York, NY (w/ Jamie Cullum)
July 1 / Museum Of Fine Arts / Boston, MA
July 2 / High Sierra / Quincy, CA
July 3 / High Sierra / Quincy, CA
July 7 / The Mystic Theater / Petaluma, CA (solo, w/ Surprise Me Mr. Davis)
July 8 / Moe’s Alley / Santa Cruz, CA (solo, w/ Surprise Me Mr. Davis)
July 18 / New Mexico Jazz Festival / Albuquerque, NM
Having just wrapped a ten city east coast tour, Marco Benevento quickly announces a new run of summer club shows and festival appearances in June and July. The Brooklyn-based pianist’s upcoming dates will be highlighted by his first ever appearance at Carnegie Hall in New York City on June 20, opening with his trio by invitation of the evening’s headliner Jamie Cullum. Benevento will also play a series of rare solo piano shows, including June 11 at John Zorn’s downtown New York City music performance space The Stone and two nights on the west coast opening for Surprise Me Mr. Davis in the week following his trio sets at High Sierra Music Festival on July 2 and 3. Other highlights include an opening slot with S.M.V. at The Keswick Theater in Philadelphia on June 10, a headline slot at The Museum Of Fine Arts in Boston on July 1 and festival appearances at Discover Jazz in Burlington on June 12 and New Mexico Jazz Festival in Albuquerque on July 18.
If you haven’t seen some of the latest solo stuff he’s been doing, scour YouTube for some of the goodness. This was a great video I enjoyed that featured some small interview segments mixed with the trio’s performance of The Knife hit “Heartbeats.” Kudos to the Philly site phrequency.com for posting a few good videos.
Marco Benevento Trio – “Heartbeats” and Interview [phrequency.com]
