"(Required)" indicates required fields Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" The new “Terrapin” music video from indie pop singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Clairo directed by celebrated actor/director/comedian Ayo Edebiri features prominent screen time by parody legend “Weird Al” Yankovic and… *checks notes*… Joe Russo’s Almost Dead keyboardist Marco Benevento the “Terrapin” video looks and feels like it was recalled from the fading memory of last night’s strange dream Weird Al Yankovic.'” The beloved 65-year-old goofball takes a strikingly sincere approach to portraying the lo-fi mystique of 26-year-old Clairo (for a while introspective tune next to sequined dancers The video’s second act is a live band scene featuring keyboardist Marco Benevento front and center “Weird Al” Clairo takes a seat next to Benevento who’s in the midst of miming a grand piano solo on a small MIDI keyboard then shoves him to the side to play some keys himself herself Dylan Nowik)—as well as the real Clairo—look on from the background with palpable disinterest come the oohs and aahs courtesy of a chorus of superimposed Als Clairos This marks the first music video directed by Ayo Edebiri known for her award-winning performance as Sydney Adamu in The Bear for which she also made her directorial debut with season 3 episode 6 of the series “Napkins.” The episode notably received a Directors Guild of America Award nomination Check out the video below for “Terrapin” by Clairo featuring “Weird Al” Yankovic A post shared by Marco Benevento (@marcobenevento22) A post shared by Marco Benevento (@marcobenevento22) Copyright © 2025 L4LM | Website by Computer Courage Photo by Bahram Foroughi Over the weekend Wilco guitarist Nels Cline and drummer Joe Russo came together for a pair of improv-heavy New York performances the trio—whose members have crossed paths in various contexts for almost two decades—held court at New York’s Brooklyn Bowl Russo and Cline invited out both horn player Stuart Bogie and beatboxer Kaila Mullady during the second half of their performance Roze performs as Kaiser Roze with Freestyle Love Supreme the musical freestyle rap group started by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Anthony Veneziale that appeared on Broadway a few years ago Bogie is a frequent guest with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead and a member of the drummer’s Selcouth Quartet NY’s recently refurbished Bearsville Theater near where both the keyboardist and guitarist are currently based the three musicians invited out another area resident Phish bassist Mike Gordon emerged and joined the quartet for another extended improvisational movement.  Benevento and Russo spent years touring together as The Duo and are now both members of JRAD They have collaborated on the road with Gordon since 2004 and jammed with him individually as recently as last year—Russo and Gordon at Sultan Room in New York and Benevento and Gordon at Bearsville this past June—yet the three players have not shared the stage at the same time since the Suwanee Hulaween festival in 2017.  Both Gordon and Bogie will join Taper’s Choice at New York’s Brooklyn Bowl this Wednesday, January 15, as part of a show celebrating Relix’s 50th anniversary Watch: Phish Become ‘Seinfeld’ Cast in New ‘Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney’ Sketch Billy Strings Performs for Kids at Michigan’s Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Widespread Panic & Aquarium Rescue Unit Revisit the Touring Festival Listen: Bruce Springsteen Previews Unreleased Film Soundtrack ‘Faithless,’ from ‘Tracks II: The Lost Albums’ Daze Between New Orleans Day Two: Odes to The Allman Brothers Band Listen: Van Morrison Shares “Cutting Corners,” Second Preview Single from ‘Remembering Now’ Listen: Warren Haynes Unveils Four ‘Million Voices Whisper’ Bonus Tracks Thanks for visiting The use of software that blocks ads hinders our ability to serve you the content you came here to enjoy We ask that you consider turning off your ad blocker so we can deliver you the best experience possible while you are here This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page PATERSON — City officials have agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a state lawsuit filed by the family of a 23-year-old man who died when a Paterson police officer’s gun went off at Fourth of July barbecue in 2016 was among the attendees at the party at the Totowa home of the officer The gun had been left on a porch railing with its safety lock in the “off” position when a 6-year-old reached for the weapon The lawsuit said Benevento then moved the gun to a ledge where Cuevos-Soto picked it up to examine it and Cuevos-Soto died in the presence of his family members who were at the party The family said Benevento altered the crime scene by removing the gun and then allegedly made up a story that Cuevas-Soto died by suicide the city and its police department denied any wrongdoing in their court response to the lawsuit “The plaintiff’s injury was a direct result of conduct of the plaintiff,” Benevento’s attorney said in court papers he filed more than four years ago Norton also asserted in his response that the circumstances described in the complaint “were not dangerous nor did they constitute a foreseeable risk.” The City Council voted in favor of the settlement without making any public statements about the case The lawyer who represented the deceased man’s family Benevento is currently president the Paterson Police Department’s Superior Officers Association Despite already qualifying as a supergroup and Cline made room on stage for a couple other big names last night welcoming both Phish bassist Mike Gordon and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead keyboardist Marco Benevento to sit in at Bearsville Theater in Woodstock where they welcomed saxophonist Stuart Bogie and beatboxer Kaila Mullady Martin & Wood keyboardist John Medeski and Wilco guitarist Nels Cline reconvened at the newly relaunched Bearsville Theater on Saturday for a night of thrilling avant garde jams Having first combined for a pair of shows at The Sultan Room back in February 2024 as the fourth edition of Russo’s rotating This Is Gonna Be a Blast live improvisation series the trio boasts plenty of firepower all on its own but the addition of two more heavy-hitting instrumentalists made for a very special once-in-a-lifetime collaboration at the intimate A post shared by Bearsville Theater (@bearsvilletheater) Arriving in the second set after the first featured just the trio Benevento’s appearance was not a total shock since he resides in Woodstock and has a long history with Russo dating back to their Benevento/Russo Duo days it was quite a surprise to see him join the trio with Medeski already handling the organ but the two keyboardists each had their own Hammond on opposite sides of the stage and sounded surprisingly cohesive jamming together Mike Gordon’s appearance came as more of a surprise though he too has a history of jamming with Russo and Benevento He performed with the Duo many times as an unofficial third member and they famously toured with his Phish bandmate Trey Anastasio as GRAB (Gordon Saturday’s collaboration also called to mind Phish’s association with Medeski It was as Phish’s house music that MMW first gained exposure in the jam band scene which ultimately helped the trio land a spot on the H.O.R.D.E Watch Mike Gordon and Marco Benevento sit in with Medeski photo: Savannah Lauren (@savannahlaurenphoto) Marco Benevento treated an intimate East Village audience to a captivating demonstration of his range and versatility over two sets at the vibey NuBlu Classic The evening was billed as solo piano with special guests which ultimately meant one solo piano set and a trio set with longtime bassist Karina Rykman and drummer Chris Corsico The low key atmosphere provided the perfect backdrop for an evening of musical exploration where Benevento channeled many of the jazz legends whose images adorned the walls in looped black and white video Benevento opened the show with an improvisation blending jazz and classical influences from Brad Mehldau The tune gradually morphed into the frenetic “Atari,” a live show staple from his 2008 solo debut LP that hits differently when he plays it without a band Benevento drew the audience in immediately with dancing and whooping mirroring his infectious energy and unabashed joy of making music that he channeled in an ebullient “The Real Morning Party” in celebration of a friend’s birthday He followed with “Terrapin,” his recent collaboration with Clairo and included a Vince Guaraldi-inspired jam and rendering of “Linus and Lucy,” in response to a request from the crowd.  soon to be joined by Corsico and Rykman for more improvised goodness and Benevento originals He sang “Solid Gold” and informed Rykman for the first time that he’d written it about her reflecting the love among the players that makes for such joyful shows (He also plugged Rykman’s upcoming show at Webster Hall on May 10th.) Rykman’s pulsating perfectly in-time playing provides a solid foundation for the trio the ideal complement to Corsico’s dynamic drumming style and Benevento’s shapeshifting tendencies on display that much more on the heels of a solo set from the driving groove of “Nature’s Change” to a cover of “Benny and the Jets,” where Benevento’s playing took on a distinctive Keith Jarrett style with the audience fully engaged and dancing along and the trio closed with a powerful rendition of “At the Show,” leaving the audience wanting more Benevento and his bandmates took a final bow leaving the audience buzzing with excitement The solo piano performance had been a revelation showcasing Benevento’s versatility and depth as a musician and the addition of Rykman and Corsico in the second set transformed the evening into a full-blown dance party of musicality and improvisation Benevento continues to push the boundaries of his craft captivating audiences with his unique blend of genres and styles Joe Russo’s Almost Dead keyboardist Marco Benevento has announced a run of solo piano gigs around the Northeast in February 2025 After concluding 2024 with an appearance at Elizabeth Mitchell and Amy Helm‘s The Sounding Joy benefit at Levon Helm Studios in his adopted hometown of Woodstock Benevento will kick off the new year with three sold-out JRAD shows at The Capitol Theatre in January and a weekend run in Georgia in February He will then strike out on his own to play five intimate solo gigs starting February 19th at The Press Room in Portsmouth MA on the 20th before continuing on to New York City for two shows at NuBlu on the 21st—one starting at 10:00 p.m Benevento will return home to Woodstock to cap the run back at Levon Helm Studios on the 22nd Tickets for Marco Benevento’s solo piano tour will go on sale Friday, December 13th at 10:00 a.m. ET. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit his website A post shared by Marco Benevento (@marcobenevento22) Phish’s Mike Gordon and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead member Marco Benevento made an unannounced appearance at the newly reopened Bearsville Theater in Woodstock For concert notes, read a full recap here.  The move preluded Gordon’s Relix 50 appearance, slated for Wednesday, Jan. 15, with Tapers Choice and special musical guests Mikaela Davis, Scott Metzger, Stuart Bogie and Jordan McLean. Tickets remain on sale.  Scroll down to view photos by Bahram Foroughi Last night, Claire Cottrill, otherwise known by her stage name, Clairo, appeared as the musical guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The performance occurred in support of the 25-year-old musician’s latest studio endeavor, Charm, taking form as sensual “Juna,” with added instrumental accompaniment from members of The Roots house band and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead’s Marco Benevento.  For the televised run-through, Clairo tapped The Roots trumpeter Dave Guy and saxophonist Ian Hendrickson-Smith, further augmenting her live band with the addition of Benevento’s complimentary movements across the keys. Notably, the aforementioned players contributed to the Leon Michels produced studio effort, further solidifying the intimacy of intertwined musical understanding in the studio and on the live stage, as displayed on screen last night.  Watch Clairo’s performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Claire Cottrill (@clairo) Marco Benevento ended a short but sweet four-night tour in the Northeast on Saturday, February 22, 2025, at the Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock The Berklee alum has a great solo catalog that is ripe with audience participation His performance also included plenty of fun banter along with noteworthy sit-ins by local musicians and a frequent cohort The show began as Marco emerged from the basement green room and addressed the crowd while walking to the stage His first tune was an original instrumental that found its way into “The Real Morning Party” from his 2008 release Invisible Baby as many participated in what became the first sing-along of the evening Marco told a story about a recent interaction he had with “Weird Al” Yankovic he mentioned noticing a Bluetooth connection labeled “Alfred,” and eventually realized it belonged to the famous musician which was the tune he collaborated on with Weird Al a young patron found his way onto the stage Marco engaged with this child in a very adorable way for a few moments before locating the parents He continued playing songs from his catalog he mentioned taking requests from the audience While he played “Take Five” by Dave Brubeck based on a request he quickly pivoted on this strategy after realizing the complexities “Send It On a Rocket” and “Record Book,” also from Invisible Baby Marco then deemed it was time for guests and brought his talented wife on stage to sing “Dirty Gin.” She really crushed the vocals he told a story about how he lives in the area and during a previous performance at Levon Helm Studios three cars of fans showed up at his residence but she quickly stepped in to entertain the unexpected guests Local guitarist Richard Swift joined Marco for a Tom Petty cover next This was followed by guitarist Chris Max sitting in for a tune Marco continued to swap guests in and out for the rest of the set His JRAD bandmate Dave Dreiwitz emerged and played upright bass for the easy-listening hit “Summer Breeze” by Seals and Crofts for an upbeat cover of Father John Misty’s well-known indie tune Dreiwitz came back to the stage to join in on “Queen Bitch” by David Bowie He remained to close out the show with the quintessential Marco tune Marco Benevento’s solo performance was highly engaging and very entertaining. It was a treat to experience his music in such an intimate and iconic setting as the Levon Helm Studios. We can’t wait for our next musical journey with this very skilled musician and performer. Most notably, he is putting on the Follow the Arrow festival on June 28, 2025, in Palenville, NY. Check out the link for more details Progressive jam giants Umphrey's McGee‘s return to Las Vegas for the seventh installment of the massively popular UMBowl production was marked once again by a stand-out tour closing dual evening extravaganza where all stops were pulled out and the power given directly to the fans, for better or for worse. Privacy Policy 02 Mar 2025 16:30:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Benevento vs Sorrento on Sun Predicted lineups are available for the match a few days in advance while the actual lineup will be available about an hour ahead of the match The current head to head record for the teams are Benevento 3 win(s) Benevento have won the previous 3 matches against Sorrento Have scored 10 goals in their last 5 matches Haven't scored in their last 2 matches Who won between Benevento and Sorrento on Sun 02 Mar 2025 16:30:00 GMT?Benevento vs Sorrento on Sun 02 Mar 2025 16:30:00 GMT ended in a 1–1 tie.InsightsHave scored 3 goals in their last 5 matches Benevento is playing home against Sorrento on Sun 24 Mar 2025 19:30:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Benevento vs AZ Picerno on Mon The current head to head record for the teams are Benevento 1 win(s) Have scored 7 goals in their last 5 matches Who won between Benevento and AZ Picerno on Mon 24 Mar 2025 19:30:00 GMT?Benevento vs AZ Picerno on Mon 24 Mar 2025 19:30:00 GMT ended in a 0–0 tie.InsightsHave scored 4 goals in their last 5 matches Benevento is playing home against AZ Picerno on Mon 09 Mar 2025 18:30:00 GMT?.css-1txiau5-AnswerContainer{color:var(--GlobalColorScheme-Text-secondaryText2);}Casertana vs Benevento on Sun The current head to head record for the teams are Casertana 1 win(s) Haven't kept a clean sheet in 11 matches Have scored 2 goals in their last 5 matches Benevento have won the previous 2 matches against Casertana Who won between Casertana and Benevento on Sun 09 Mar 2025 18:30:00 GMT?Casertana vs Benevento on Sun 09 Mar 2025 18:30:00 GMT ended in a 1–1 tie.InsightsHave scored 3 goals in their last 5 matches Casertana is playing home against Benevento on Sun PATERSON — Mason Maher, the unsuccessful GOP candidate for Passaic County Sheriff in 2022 was defeated Friday in his bid for reelection as president of the union for Paterson’s ranking police officers who had held the Superior Officers Association leadership post for more than a decide finished third in a three-man contest for union president won by Christopher Benevento a lieutenant who works as a supervisor in the police patrol division I wanted an opportunity for my voice to be heard,” said Benevento “Maybe they wanted a change,” Benevento said when asked why he thought his colleagues elected him Maher became the second candidate from the Passaic County Republicans’ 2022 ticket to lose his Paterson police union leadership post after getting beat in the countywide election who lost the county commissioner race two years ago was ousted as Paterson’s PBA president last June after he served 12 years in that position Some members of the department said Paterson cops were not happy that their union leaders were running for political office in 2022 while their labor contracts were unsettled said he was honored to lead the union for more than a decade adding that he thought Benevento would do a good job as his successor "I will do everything I can to help the transition go smoothly," Maher said “He did an outstanding job,” he said of Maher More from Paterson Press: Paterson schools private security costs will top $10 million in the new school year had worked as a Paterson police officer for 28 years before he retired as a sergeant in 2002 Benevento said his mother has been a Paterson school teacher for more than three decades “I was proud to promote Chris Benevento to the rank of lieutenant (in 2021) and I am eager to work with him to make our city safer,” said Mayor Andre Sayegh the state-appointed Officer in Charge of the Paterson police department issued a brief statement when asked about Benevento getting the SOA presidency “I look forward to continuing my strong support of our members and union leadership as we work together to improve safety in our community and job satisfaction for our officers,” Abbassi said A state arbitrator recently issued an order settling Paterson’s SOA contract The arbitration order provides SOA members 2% annual raises But the decision provides for limited retroactive pay which cops said will prompt some long-serving ranking officers to stay on the job for an extra year so the pay hike could be incorporated into their pensions Benevento said his top goal as new president would be resolving the next labor contract “in a reasonable amount of time.” Benevento is the target of a pending lawsuit filed by the family of a 23-year-old man who fatally shot himself with Benevento’s gun during a July 4 party at Benevento’s home The Passaic County prosecutor’s office had described the fatal shooting as an apparent suicide But the family is contending that Xavier Cuevas-Soto fired the gun accidentally when he found it on a porch at the party Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com It looks like JavaScript is not enabled in your browser As Marco Benevento continues to gain increasingly widespread recognition for his keyboard work with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead his solo records have solidified a sound of their own—a percussive Benevento switched things up even more than usual teaming with producer and multi-instrumentalist Leon Michels—who is known for his own group El Michels Affair and has played in Dan Auerbach’s The Arcs—instead of simply hitting the studio with his current live band is associated with the Big Crown and Daptone scenes and has played with Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson and brought in Benevento’s regular bassist Karina Rykman to supply some background vocals Though his instrumental and songwriting chops have long been revered thanks to his contributions to groups like the Benevento-Russo Duo Benevento has only just begun showcasing his vocal chops on his recent records “I opened up that door and it won’t go away,” Benevento says but then I got into jazz and experimental music when I was 18-19 and abandoned the whole singing thing in favor of instrumental music One nice thing my drummer said about me: ‘Most singers lose their voice as tours go on I subbed for Leon in The Arcs for a few gigs I had made a record with [fellow Arcs member] Richard Swift in 2014 [Swift] When I told Richard that Leon and I were working on a record together “I’m so glad you guys hooked up—dream team Gimme a second.” And he freakin’ died on us He was too close of a friend for me to think that it would actually happen “He’ll figure it out.” The record was done a long time ago and we were really just waiting on Richard to mix it Leon Michels (l-r) at Diamond Mine studio in Queens Leon and I worked on the record here and there for a year I played when I was in high school and started getting into it again three or four years ago I was undefeated in high-school doubles.” When you play tennis with a musician friend it can be really lame—they come with the wrong sneakers What’re you doing?” Leon played when he was a kid too so we both have that crazy competitive edge and love hitting the ball hard at each other Our games are pretty damn even; we go to a tie-breaker all the time So we’d play tennis in the morning and get our asses kicked It became super fun and casual—there were no deadlines then we did the rest Upstate at my place and his place I’d been sitting with these demos for almost two years and I wanted to throw my hands up in the air and say even rerecord everything.” The record is basically Nick Movshon We’d track the three of us together and then Nick would add bass So the rhythm section is really one person I’ve always loved the sound of [Leon’s] records and the simplicity of his records and I thought that it would be a good match for me to hook up with him He’s a new Upstate best friend—we can go out for pizza and drink red wine and have the kids hang out We even got his kids and my kids to sing on the ending of “Send It on a Rocket.” We were eating dinner at their house and I was like “We should get the kids in the house and record this.” This one was a collaborative effort and took two years to do It was my favorite experience of all the records I’ve done—it’s right up there with making that record with Richard Swift I’m a total gear junkie—I like capturing sounds and being my own producer and my own engineer So do Leon and all those guys at Diamond Mine with lots of bouncing from one tape machine to another and lots of saturation and a degrading quality to get the sound we wanted All the demos I had were made with drum machines and Leon—he told me he’s never done this before—wanted to get the drums to sound like a drum machine but with a real drummer It’s funny—when I play these songs for people “Is that a real drummer or is that a drum machine?” And I’m like we did a tour promoting our live album and we played some of these songs It was nice to sit on the tunes for a while and really figure out what tempo or key we wanted them to be and what would really benefit my voice We could figure out what feel we should use or if we want to keep the drum machine on a track But I still worked on the album every day; I wasn’t lazy about it It just simmered for a long time and that process sometimes results in the best songs And I have a whole other record on the burner already This article originally appears in the January/February 2019 issue of Relix. For more features, interviews, album reviews and more, subscribe here Marco Benevento has revealed the slate of artists set to appear at his curated Follow The Arrow Festival the Joe Russo’s Almost Dead keyboardist will fill out a sizable chunk of the lineup Benevento will perform three sets throughout the day: a headlining performance with Phish bassist Mike Gordon Marco will go international for his third annual festival Brazilian psychedelic rock progenitors Os Motantes will perform in addition to resurgent Zamrockers W.I.T.C.H Follow The Arrow will also present domestic genre-fluid live force Ghost Funk Orchestra with Brooklyn singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Sam Cohen serving as a special guest Related: Phish’s Mike Gordon Sits In With Karina Rykman At Nectar’s [Photos/Pro-Shot Video] Tickets for the 2024 Follow The Arrow Festival go on sale on Friday, March 8th at 10 a.m. ET via Tixr with Benevento warning “they will go fast!” Those who want early access to tickets can text SUBSCRIBE to 845-832-2988 Benevento debuted Follow The Arrow (named for a song from his 2016 concept album The Story of Fred Short) in 2022 in conjunction with the Royal Potato Family record label and Impact Concerts family-friendly event takes place just outside his longtime home base of Woodstock NY and over the years has hosted rare performances from The Slip and Benevento’s own Surprise Me Mr Davis as well as sets by Marco’s friends and collaborators Rubblebucket Up next for Benevento is a local gig at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock where he will stage a two-night album release run for his double live album Barn Burner: Live At Levon’s, recorded at the late The Band drummer’s barn venue. For tickets and a full list of tour dates visit Benevento’s website A post shared by Marco Benevento (@marcobenevento22) As for morale, "we are going down to Campania without our best player, Barrichello he is in fact suspended, so for us it will be a match where we have to give our all, because it is a do-or-die challenge. There is pressure, but also a lot of determination and desire to get out of this complicated situation soon". “I like focusing on one ingredient and distilling it,” says chef Matthew Schaler of Birdie G’s in Santa Monica he shops for benevento tomatoes for an icon sandwich and this is the second year that Schaler has put the dish on the menu The open-faced sandwich is composed of focaccia made in-house with tomato water and a powder made by dehydrating the fruit used in water The benevento tomatoes at the Weiser Family Farm stand come courtesy of breeder Fred Hempel of Artisan Seeds Alex Weiser of Weiser Family Farms grows the benevento tomato that chefs are loving. Weiser enjoys working with breeders who have an interest in exploring new flavors. Fred Hempel of Artisan Seeds is a tomato breeder in Northern California who conducts trials of new varieties in the field The interior of the benevento tomato is what Hempel would call “slabby,” with seeds spread out — perfect for a sandwich It holds its shape and doesn’t spoil too quickly A cooler spring means a later season for tomatoes so be on the lookout at the market well into October Meliz Berg praises the overlapping cultures of the slow-cooked meats and herby salads of a Cypriot diet Third-generation Alaskan Julia O'Malley reports on salmon fishermen trying to keep their head above water amid a lawsuit and starving orcas Maunika Gowardhan reconfigures tandoori cooking for the home oven replicating the flavors of the traditional clay pot Bill Addison heads to Beverly Grove for a union between the Goat Mafia and Saucy Chick Food historian Judith Tschann breaks down the often farcical etymology of food words Chef Matthew Schaler at Birdie G’s celebrates tomato season with a sandwich layering the nightshade in every component Good Food’s Evan Kleiman delivers local-first missives from our vibrant food community Donate by midnight tomorrow and your $100 becomes $200 for KCRW thanks to a $10,000 match by music legend Moby DOuble dollars Get the latest from KCRW in your inbox 3x a week 1.0.68-V8PROD-READY Deployment date: May 03 ​Benevento calls the outcome of his deep walk through polyrhythmic grooves songs based on poetry and short lyrical ditties his “small batch psychedelia.” During his long break from the road due to the pandemic Marco Benevento didn’t just sit at home and twiddle his thumbs the keyboardist stepped outside into his cramped studio on his nine-acre Woodstock developed a jazz/rock solo affair of rambunctious and off-kilter experimentation The simply titled Benevento (Royal Potato Family) serves as his liberating sonic playground with a collection of in-need-of-dusting studio toys vintage analog equipment and multiple keyboards such as a Mellotron He calls the outcome of his deep walk through polyrhythmic grooves songs based on poetry and short lyrical ditties his “small batch psychedelia,” describing the creation as totally “home brew.” Since moving upstate from New York City in 2011 Benevento used his 20-by-40-foot space (nicknamed the Inspiration Station by friends) as his home base for composing and then passing off demos to whomever he was working with in various bands to add the finesse “I was making all the magic happen by myself,“ he said and then one day realized this may be the real record I’m glad it’s out there because it’s a snapshot of my world at that time I played everything on my four-track tape recorder with some songs that sound like they’re unfinished short interludes and then instrumental music that is structural In some ways this album is like going back to my roots.” Benevento comes from a full jazz background having attended Berklee College of Music and studied with Joanne Brackeen and all I was shooting for was to form a jazz trio,” he said I discovered the sound of playing the acoustic piano through an amplifier one day and then added a distortion pedal and a delay.” A forward thinker Benevento started to explore jam rock and indie pop in the mix His trio of bassist Reed Mathis and drummer Matt Chamberlain scored some impressive gigs including the Newport Jazz Festival and opening for Jamie Cullum at Carnegie Hall the band was approached by an A&R talent scout from Verve who was interested in recording them for the label where we could take home any of the label’s music,” Benevento said with a laugh That gave us a lot of confidence that we were doing something right freaked out because he had already booked a tour and he wanted albums to sell and release Me Not Me — the beginning of a long string of adventurous Benevento albums as well as a roster expansion of a range of music from fringe jazz to calming folk the lone cat enlisted his San Diego poet friend Al Howard to send him poems that found their way into the vocal songs with Benevento’s wife and their two young girls singing backup he linked up with master percussionist Mamadouba “Mimo” Camara who works at the progressive Woodstock Day School that his kids attend The pair catches fire on “Marco And Mimo,” where daughter Ruby joins in Benevento’s improvised tunes include “The Warm Up,” which features a dazzling piano run “Then I discovered I had come up with pretty cool Another shorty is the playful “Polysix,” which Benevento says is the name of his go-to keyboard: “It’s just a 30-second interlude of a little ditty that was stuck in my head.” Then there’s the opener the loud and catchy “Like Me” that he says is pretty much “an unfinished song.” The structured compositions include the pop-ish “At The End Or The Beginning,” which has an African dance vibe That’s influenced by Benevento’s fascination with the sounds of West African pop titans Francis Bebey the electronic Cameroon composer whose synth guitar explores the makossa dance rhythm; Kiki Ghani a keyboardist from Ghani who’s famous for his disco funk; and William Onyeabor the late legendary Nigerian funk star that David Byrne champions and I have a huge collection,” Benevento said “My world was blown open when I found this music with its repetitious grooves and synthesizer solos They remind me of all the music that I love It’s my go-to music when I wake up in the morning ‘I can make songs like this.’ So ‘Marco And Mimo’ is my version of a Francis Bebey song And some of the other experimental stuff reminds me of the vibes from those guys.” One of Benevento’s friends says his project reminded him of the first Paul McCartney DIY album where the former Beatle played all the instruments and recorded in a rural setting “I have 20 or 30 more pieces that I plan to put out,” he says I might do what Paul did on his two other solo albums it’s the last album he recorded in his cramped studio “I was in that studio for 10 years and had some good experiences,” he said “I’ve moved into a bigger studio: my three-car garage that had been used for storage “This is one of the great gifts that Coltrane gave us — he gave us a key to the cosmos in this recording,” says John McLaughlin In his original liner notes to A Love Supreme The Blue Note Jazz Festival New York kicks off May 27 with a James Moody 100th Birthday Celebration at Sony Hall Blue Note Entertainment Group has unveiled the lineup for the 14th annual Blue Note Jazz Festival New York “I’m certainly influenced by Geri Allen,” said Iverson during a live Blindfold Test at the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival Ethan Iverson performed as part of the 31st Umbria Jazz Winter festival in… we’re left with similarities,” Collier says “Cultural differences are mitigated through 12 notes.” DownBeat has a long association with the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference but it’s still kind of productive in a way because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing… About|Terms of Use|PrivacyCopyright © 2025 Maher Publications DownBeat is an internationally registered trademark of Maher Publications Before joining Boehringer Ingelheim in 2022 Marlo Benevento spent nearly a decade on the agency side She started her career at PRI Healthcare Solutions as an account executive in client services managing projects with budgets ranging from $50,000 to more than $250,000 where her strong relationships with clients and her reputation as an authority on KOL engagement P2P and congress activities were key to Virgo’s continued growth Benevento has learned to navigate the organization and led the creation of new education materials while setting a positive tone built around teamwork and camaraderie One of the titles Benevento is most proud of doesn’t appear on her resume — Auntie Marlo She is passionate about being a role model for her nieces showing them they can achieve whatever they want Click here to return to the 2024 MM+M 40 Under 40 homepage. Join us for the fifth annual Pinnacle Awards program, which celebrates the medical marketing industry’s most venerable marketers, strategists and creators. Get to know each of these companies by learning about their culture How artificial intelligence can deliver more meaningful business outcomes for marketers advertisers can achieve big lifts in awareness and sales of their medications among all demographics In a world where healthcare is moving fast HCG is spearheading the charge to turn scientific potential into real-world impact Register for free and enjoy unlimited access to: Only subscribers can update their account from this page keyboardist Marco Benevento and drummer Joe Russo will perform a surprise acoustic set at Relix Studio in New York City The performance will be streamed for free on The Relix Channel on Twitch The pop-up set marks a rare acoustic performance by the Duo The two first began performing as a duo back in 2001 They subsequently released four studio records including 2005’s Best Reason to Buy the Sun and 2006’s Play Pause Stop Benevento and Russo also perform together in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, who recently announced a three-night, socially distanced run at New Haven’s Westville Music Bowl Tune into the Benevento/Russo Duo livestream here.