April 14, 2023: Today, Emmy-nominated trumpeter-vocalist-composer Benny Benack III released “Catching Drift” featuring saxophonist Chad LB — it’s the newest single from his LP Third Time’s The Charm, out June 30th via La Reserve / Bandstand Presents. Featuring heavyweight solos from Benack and his band, “Catching Drift” is a studio track with an outsized, live show feel. The triple-threat Benack has assembled one of the best bands in New York, including longtime collaborator and pianist Emmet Cohen joined by Russell Hall and Kyle Poole.
“‘Catching Drift’ is midnight at Smalls,” explains Benack. “That New York energy. I knew I wanted to feature Chad, because I knew it would be a great vehicle for him to go nuts. It’s one of my main vehicles for trumpet playing and instrumental music on the album.”
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 to full effect, creating an album that he says captures “the maturation, the culmination of my journey to this point.”
“It perfects the formula I’ve crafted on my previous two albums,” Benack continues. “I tried to program it as if I was doing a two set concert. 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.”
Third in a generational line of Pittsburgh jazz notables, Benny follows in the footsteps of his trumpeter/bandleader grandfather, Benny Benack, Sr. (1921-86), and his father Benny Benack, Jr., a saxophonist/clarinetist who gave the young Benny his first professional experience. 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.
Tracklisting:
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
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