Benny Benack III Will Play Dizzy's Club June 26th With THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM ALBUM RELEASE

Emmy-nominated trumpeter, vocalist, and composer Benny Benack III will play DIzzy's Club on Monday, June 26th, at 7:30 and 9:30 pms in a concert appropriately titled THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM ALBUM RELEASE.  This new recording by the jazz proficient is due out on June 30th on the La Reserve/Bandstand Presents label.  On the album, Mr. Benack has assembled one of the best bands in New York, featuring longtime collaborator and pianist Emmet Cohen, joined by bassist Russell Hall and drummer Kyle Poole.  Although THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM has yet to hit the streaming airwaves and online shopping platforms (there IS a physical CD available!), Benack has already released five singles from the album, the most recent being a recording of the Music Man composition "Gary, Indiana" that came out on May 26th.    For his June 26th show, Mr. Benack will be showcasing his triple-threat skills in exciting new arrangements of much-loved classics, as well as sharing compositions of his own creation.  (Tickets HERE)

Full Dizzy's Club personnel list:
Benny Benack III, trumpet
Emmet Cohen, piano
Russell Hall, bass
Kyle Poole, drums
Peter Bernstein, guitar
Special Guests:
Michael Stephenson, saxophone
Benny Benack Jr., saxophone

Third in a generational line of Pittsburgh jazz notables, Benny follows in the footsteps of his trumpeter/bandleader grandfather Benny Benack Sr., his saxophonist/clarinetist father Benny Benack Jr., and his mother Claudia Benack, a voice professor at Carnegie Mellon University who’s instructed the likes of Josh Groban, Leslie Odom Jr., and many more. Benack’s family gave him his first professional experience at a very young age. “‘Gary, Indiana’ is the first song I ever performed in my life as a professional,” says Benack. “My mom played piano with me, and I would be like 8 years old, walking out onstage in the middle of my dad’s concert. My mom would hold my hand, and we’d go out and I’d sing ‘Gary, Indiana.’” 

Benack’s parents couldn’t make the gig this time around, so he instead made it a rollicking duet with Emmet Cohen. “I also wanted to feature Emmet’s stride playing,” Benack notes. “I think he’s one of the great masters of that style.”

Benack has proven to be that rarest of talents: not only a fiery trumpet player with a stirring command of the post-bop trumpet vernacular in the vein of Kenny Dorham and Freddie Hubbard, but also a singer with a sly, mature, naturally expressive delivery in the post-Sinatra mold, performing standards and his own astute songs with a thrilling sense of showmanship. This dual-threat ability was recognized by the 2022 DownBeat Critics Poll where he appeared as not only the #2 Rising Star Male Vocalist, but a top Rising Star Trumpeter as well. His superb intonation and bracing virtuosity enable him to handle astounding feats of originally composed vocalese (complex solos with written lyrics). On top of it all, he’s a highly capable pianist as well.

In early 2020, Benack released A Lot of Livin’ to Do, the follow-up to his well-received 2017 debut One of a Kind. The sophomore effort, richly varied in mood and brimming with bop inflection, featured bassist extraordinaire and Jazz ambassador Christian McBride, whose GRAMMY-award winning Big Band frequently calls upon Benny in the trumpet section. Benack’s upcoming LP Third Time’s The Charm builds on the signature style of those previous releases, drawing on his fluency in a diverse set of genres and crafting a studio album with a live show feel. 

“This record is the maturation, the culmination of my journey to this point,” shares Benack, “and of everything I’ve been developing artistically, across my playing, singing, and writing. It perfects the formula I’ve crafted on my previous two albums. I tried to program it as if I was doing a two set concert. It has that New York kind of energy, being in the room at midnight at Smalls, or if you went to see me at Dizzys. If you’re seeing a live show, you love that zig zag and energy thrust of different styles. That’s how you put on a dynamic show. I wanted the album to reflect that.”

Benny has also appeared as a trumpet soloist alongside Josh Groban, Ben Folds, fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi, Ann Hampton Callaway, and more. He made his television debut in NBC’s SNL-inspired variety show Maya & Marty, playing in the in-studio band led by acclaimed bassist & Broadway arranger Charlie Rosen. He also performs frequently in the house band of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

When THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM drops on June 30th, fans of Benack's can look forward to these tracks:

1. Third Time's The Charm
2. I'll Never Fall In Love Again
3. Scootin'
4. Catching Drift
5. Thank You For The Heartbreak
6. Gary, Indiana
7. In A Mellow Tone
8. It's Not Unusual
9. Twilight Blue
10. Roylike
11. Jade
12. American Woman
13. Giselle
14. Pretty Eyed Baby
 

Benny Benack III will be touring with the album release:

June 23: Blue Llama - Ann Arbor, MI
June 24: Jazz Kitchen - Indianapolis, IN
June 26: Dizzy's Club - New York, NY 
June 30: Iowa City Jazz Festival - Iowa City, IA
July 1: Noce in Des Moines
July 28: Chris' Jazz Cafe - Philadelphia, PA
August 10-11: Vic’s Las Vegas - Las Vegas, NV
August 12: San Jose Jazz Festival - San Jose, CA
August 25: Lewiston Jazz Festival - Lewiston, NY
August 26: Oshkosh Jazz Festival - Oshkosh, WI
September 1: Vail Jazz Festival 2023 - Vail, CO

Visit the Benny Benack III website HERE, Facebook page HERE, Instagram HERE, and Twitter HERE.

Benny Benack III's photos are by Matt Baker.
 

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