Afternoon Jazz – Dave Bennett Quartet

Michigan clarinetist DAVE BENNETT, is an authentic musical prodigy who brings to life the classic sound and music of BENNY GOODMAN (1909-1986) with incredible technique, style, beauty of tone and naturalness.

This performance will feature classic swing era tunes from Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman and some New Orleans Jazz  a la Pete Fountain.  The program will be announced from the stage but will include:

Sing Sing Sing
Begin the Beguine
Just a Closer Walk with Thee
Avalon
Stardust
I Got Rhythm
Moonglow
Drum Boogie Woogie
 

Dave resides in Waterford, Michigan, (born May 18, 1984 in Pontiac, MI) and began his playing at age 10 on a clarinet given to him by his grandparents. He then taught himself how to play Goodman songs by ear, listening to a tape given to him by his grandfather. Dave had his first "feature appearance" playing Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen at his 5th Grade band concert. At age 12 Dave was invited to the bandstand of the famous Sweet Basil jazz club in New York to sit in with the trumpet great Doc Cheatham.

As an early teen, a tape of Dave’s playing sent to another hero, Pete Fountain, resulted in an unprompted telephone call to Dave by Fountain, encouraging this remarkable young talent that he was "on the right track.”

Starting at age 14 (and continuing still) Dave has traveled with The New Reformation Band and Wally’s Warehouse Waifs on the “trad jazz” festival circuit.  At 17 Bennett was selected as one of two high school students from a field of 600, to have the opportunity to perform as a special guest soloist with The Count Basie Orchestra.

Bennett premiered his Tribute to Benny Goodman septet in November 2003, at Windsor's Capitol Theatre. The concert resulted in Dave’s first feature CD of Goodman material, released on PKO Records.                   

Dave Bennett has created written and "head" arrangements of many Goodman "hits" and "swing jazz classics": Moonglow, I've Got Rhythm, Body and Soul, Slipped Disc, Sing Sing Sing, Airmail Special, Breakfast Feud, Poor Butterfly and many others. Bennett's mature stage presence, knowledge of the dates and details of Goodman recordings, and his penchant for wire-rim glasses, spats and double-breasted suits, transport listeners back to the time and mood of Benny Goodman's “swing era”.  In his Goodman Tribute, Dave demonstrates an uncanny ability: "copping" many of Goodman's famous "riffs" and "lines" (very close to Benny's classic recordings) balanced by substantial amounts of "free blowing" that still evokes the Goodman sound and style.

Bennett has made a great impression on several of Benny Goodman’s famous band members: vibraphonist Peter Appleyard, guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli and pianist Dick Hyman. They all strongly endorse Dave Bennett as “the closest ever” to Goodman’ sound and style. He has performed with them in the US, Canada and Europe, and they have recorded as “Special Guests” on Dave’s two recent CDs.

Since 2005 Dave Bennett has been touring for symphony “pops” shows with his Benny Goodman tribute. Performances contracted include the orchestras of San Antonio, Grand Rapids, Tacoma, Columbus, Nashville, Omaha, Rochester, Harrisburg, Baltimore, Orlando, Windsor and Kingston ON. After his success with The Detroit Symphony at Meadowbrook in 2006, the DSO brought Dave’s Goodman tribute for five shows at Orchestra Hall in May 2008. Bennett played to 10,000 fans over four days.

Dave was featured on two NPR network radio programs  with The Jim Cullum Jazz Band  on Jazz at Riverwalk  broadcast in Dec. 2007. In April 2008 Dave made his European debut (at The Bern International Jazz Festival , Switzerland), chosen to  play in a sextet with The Good Men: headlining with the aforementioned Pizzarelli and Appleyard.

Inspiring Dave for the occasional vocal it should be noted that he is also a big fan of Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash and other rock and country greats. Dave is a very good “rockabilly” guitarist, playing lots of hot/rockin' licks on his classic Gretsch electric guitar and recently performed on this instrument at Windsor’s Capitol Theatre. Dave also plays strong boogie-woogie piano in a style inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis. Dave has an added fan base when he performs for the young “swing dance” crowds at competitions around the country.
 

Douglas Cobb (drums) of Saginaw has played professionally for thirty-five years. Early in his career he worked for fifteen years on the Delta Queen and Mississippi Queen river boats based in New Orleans. Doug then moved to Orlando Florida where he performed at the Rosie O’ Grady’s Good-time Emporium for another fifteen years. Doug also worked at Disney World, frequently playing at the Grand Floridian Hotel. Returning to Michigan in 2000, Doug is now the regular drummer of The Dave Bennett Quartet  which has performed at The San Diego Jazz Festival, The Detroit International Jazz Festival, The Elkhart Jazz Fest and others.

Tad Weed is a powerhouse of a pianist who recently relocated from Los Angeles to the Midwest. Tad’s discography includes over a dozen CD’s, and he has performed with some of the greatest names in jazz including John Patitucci, Mundell Lowe, Carmen McCrae, Charles Lloyd and Woody Herman. His artistically rich and diverse background allows him to command a wide range of styles, from Be Bop to the Blues, and from Funk to the Avant Garde. He has played concerts, clubs, television and radio around the world, in such exotic places as Brazil and China, as well as Holland, England, France, Germany and Finland. Some of his more noteworthy appearances include The Concord Jazz Festival, The Boston Globe Jazz Festival at Symphony Hall, The Kool Jazz Festival and The Berlin Radio Festival. Tad is also in demand as an educator and has given clinics with Bill Walrous, Bobby Shew, Jerome Richardson, Don Menza, George Shearing and Bud Shank throughout the USA.

Bassist Kurt Krahnke is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, but also studied at the New England Conservatory of Music. He toured the east coast with Ron Levy for two years and then returned to Detroit, where he taught with the Summer Music Program under the direction of Wendell Harrison. Since his return to Michigan, Krahnke has played with Phil Lasley, Jimmy Giuffre, Joe Henderson, Sonny Fortune, Pinetop Perkins, Russell Green, and toured and recorded with Leon Thomas. In 1989, Kurt performed as a finalist in the Hennessey Jazz Search in Hollywood, CA, with the Steve Wood/Brad Felt Quintet. Krahnke played and toured with the acclaimed JC Heard Orchestra from 1986-89 and received the Best Jazz Bassist award from the Metro-Times. Kurt has recorded and played with Paul VornHagen for eight years and continues to serve as a mentor for young bassists in the region.