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Benoit mixes new sounds and ideas to stay relevant
By JOHN BENSON
Over the past three decades, jazz pianist David Benoit has released more than 25 albums, including his 2000 memorial to “Peanuts” creator Charles M. Schulz titled “Here’s to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years.” He’s also scored a number of films and conducted the Asia America Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the symphonies of London, Nuremberg, San Francisco, Atlanta, San Antonio and San Jose.
When it came time for Benoit to write his new album, the Grammy Award-nominated artist decided to step outside of his comfort zone to explore more contemporary soundscapes. The result is the eclectic “Earthglow,” which Benoit said was directly influenced by the jazz-lounge Euro-chill scene.
“Part of it was to challenge myself, but I felt like I wanted to really stay current,” said Benoit, calling from Redondo Beach, Calif. “I can just keep making the same records, but what’s the point? I was listening to a lot like this Euro-chill stuff and just liking it. It’s a lot more bossa nova driven and it’s not your typical R&B groove. There’s some new stuff, new ideas and why not try it.
“So this was just art from scratch and new ideas. I went out of the smooth jazz, or whatever I was supposed to listen to, and listened to different stuff because I really wanted to do something really fresh and have a little fun. Of course there are very signature type of compositions but a lot of the stuff was definitely fun to experiment with some new sounds.”
Specifically, Benoit points to “Botswana Bossa Nova,” which mixes African voices, bossa nova beats and a funky jazz piano, as well as the aforementioned Euro-chill-sounding “Will’s Chill.” The latter track was influenced by the unlikeliest of artists, Will.i.am from pop group Black Eyed Peas.
“I love his production,” Benoit said. “The track ‘Look of Love,’ he’s one of the guys who is one of the top innovators of the scene. That’s what records sound like now. He has a way of mixing and putting this new thing in, whatever it is. He’s really at the forefront, and why it’s so effective is the simplicity. He’s so to the point, he’s all about the groove. It’s a very simple, organic sound.”
Closing the 11-track “Earthglow” is “Freedom At Midnight (The Schroeder Variations),” which is a unique mix of Benoit’s classic 1987 radio hit and a beguiling take on Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata.” It’s this sort of unique sound and approach that Benoit said he’s introduced into his live show, which he brings to Youngstown for the first time July 10 at the Youngstown Summer Festival.
Fans of the jazz great can expect to hear plenty of familiar tracks, as well as newer material that truly shows off Benoit’s current state of mind.
“I toyed around with playing (backing) tracks that are on the record but that’s a tricky road to go down,” Benoit said. “So what we’re doing now basically is arranging the songs so the band can play them and they make sense because there’s obviously a lot of textures that won’t necessarily be there. We’re probably going to play a lot more synthesizer than I have in the past to try to cover some of those sounds but we’re really rehearsing to get really tight so the presentation of the music is going to be as good as it can be.”
He added, “We actually started performing ‘Freedom at Midnight (The Schroeder Variations)’ and that’s really gone over well because the audience can picture Schroeder being very serious and then Lucy and Snoopy interrupting him with ‘Freedom of Midnight.’ So it’s been a lot of fun.”