MI: LIBRARY: INTERVIEWS: DAVID BENOIT

David Benoit is a world renown Jazz Artist and Composer. He has a lot of his own work, and has done other work for TV shows such as All My Children, and Peanuts.

He has performed all over the world, his jazz music, and conducting various symphonies. He has also recently composed his first classical work, KOBE. 

MI interviewed this music great, and heres what he told us!

1. What do you remember as your earliest musical experience?

 Well, I remember when I was about 5 years old my parents moved the upright piano into my bedroom.  And I remember my mother playing the piano, and teaching me a few things, I was getting kind of interested in it.  Then I also remember going to my grandmothers house, they had a grand piano in the living room, I was probably about 6 or 7, I remember kind of coming up with a little composition that I was showing my grandmother.  A little something I came up with.  Some little composition in ¾ time on the white keys.

2. Who / what have been your major influences?

Well, of course Henry Mancini was one, when I was growing up, he was very popular.  The guy that wrote the James Bond music, John Berry was an influence.  Sergio Mandez.  The Beatles.  Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson later on as I got older.  Ramsey Luis to a certain extent.  To name a few.

3. When did you realize music is what you were going to pursue for a career?

I think it was right around, I was 17 in my last year of High School, I started doing well in music programs and I was scoring the music for a broadway show we were doing.  And I started doing a weekend gig playing the piano in Redondo Beach.  That’s when I decided, the last year of high school, that I was going to do it for a living.  I just started going out, playing clubs and meeting people.

4. What as your first professional performance?

One of my early gigs was playing on the Redondo Beach Pier in the Top 40 bands when I was 17.  Well, before that, actually my first performance as Dave Benoit was at the Stage Door Coffee House in downtown L.A. when I was 16.  I had a quartet, we played some originals, that was the first, probably official performance.  I probably got paid $30.00.

5. What non-solo performances have you done?  With other orchestras, or other bands or groups?

Oh, its been a lot, I’ve played in Larry Carlton’s band for awhile.  A figure named lady Cusan, and actress, I was her conductor for a long time.  I worked with a lot of different orchestras in Vegas and Atlantic City.  I worked with Tom Scott, I did a tour with Lee Rittenhower.  The Rippingtons.

6. You’ve conducted the London Symphony Orchestra, for one of your newest albums, American Landscape.  What did you enjoy most about or learn from that experience?

Well, I learned that it’s a lot of fun to conduct, I also learned that there is a lot of preparation that goes into it before you actually wave the baton.  And you can always prepare more, knowing the score, and knowing all the parts and really being able to be up there with confidence when players have problems and questions.  That was one of the biggest things I think I’ve learned.  But its something I certainly want to do more of.

7. Which would you prefer, playing, conducting? Or both, like at the San Francisco Symphony?

Well I like both, I’d like to do more conducting as I get older, I feel the passion for it, but I love playing, I always will want to play, I’m sure as long as I’m in the music business.  Both is difficult to do, but its fun, to play the piano then conduct landmark cues with the orchestra.

8. Can you summarize what you did with the various Symphonies, such as London.  Like, how often you rehearsed and performed?

Well, usually with the symphony, you just get one day of rehearsal.  I just did another symphony gig a couple weekends ago with the Asia America Symphony, and we did a few of my songs, and the music from Miss Saigon, the overture.  We did a medley of songs from Cinderella.  We did something with Michael Palo, a lot of fun.  That was in L.A.

9. You have performed in MANY different countries, including Japan.  What differences do you find between performing in each?

Well, in Japan, the audience is a little more focused for sure, they’re not as loud as American audiences.  You have to get used to it, the response is a little different.  Its pretty good, and they end up reserving a lot of their response until the end, then they’ll really show it.  They are very appreciative.

10. Do you have any experience with instruments besides the piano?

Um, not really, I had a drum set when I was a kid, I used to bang on the drums.  I have a guitar that used to be my dad’s and I mess around with that a little bit, but mostly it’s piano, and keyboards, you know I have keyboards, and electronic keyboards.  I work on those a little bit. 

11. You do all your own composing for your own CD’s right?

A fair amount, all the Charlie Brown tribute music is of course mostly Vince Geraldi, so theres not a lot of compositions of my own on that CD.  Usually on my records will be my own compositions. 

12. You are primarily a jazz musician / composer.  But you are currently working on your first classical piece, KOBE.  What major differences do you find between the two different styles?

Yeah, and I collaborated with Kent Nagano, he’s a famous conductor from the Bay Area.  And we are hoping to get a recording of it.  I’ve performed it actually with the San Francisco Symphony not too long ago. 

13. What major differences do you find between the two different styles, jazz and classical?

Well the major thing is that jazz is a lot of improvisation,  and classical all the notes are written out and do it’s a lot more intense.  Its just a different experience, and the classical music requires a little more background education.  But I think in jazz you can get away with a lot of stuff, kind of faking things.  You really can’t do that in classical music.

14. So when recording your jazz compositions, you do a lot of improv?

Yeah, quite a bit, on the records too, sometimes I don’t even really have a set melody.  I record a song, and I just kind of improvise it in the session.

15. Which do you favor the most?  Jazz or classical?

Uh, I’d say jazz, jazz wins.  But I like classical, I can get into it.  But still my heart is always going to be in jazz, without a doubt.

16. Besides your own music, who / what do you listen to in your free time?

You know, I really don’t listen to my own music in my free time, cause I get so tired of it.  But I like to listen to Dave Brubeck, I like Bill Evans, I listen to a lot of Bill Evans, I like to listen to Stan Getz.  Um, there is a piano player named Paul Sullivan that’s not very well known.  I like Eddy Daniels, he’s got some nice records out.  I listen to Dave Grusin.  Lee Rittenhouer.  Earl Cleu.  I like middle of the road but hip jazz.  I don’t like to listen to things that are too heavy when I’m at home.  I like a lot of music that I relaxing.

17. Who is your favorite composer / artist?

In terms of a composer, I’d have to say Erin Colblan would be my favorite.  He’s brilliant, and he’s crossed over from classical to jazz pretty successfully.  In terms of my favorite artist, well I think Bill Evans, my hearts into Bill Evans, I think he would be really right up there.  If not number one, certainly in the top five.

18. Aside from practicing, how do you prepare for a performance?

I drink a lot of coffee and 7up.  You know I just try to get real up for the performace, a lot of times I prepare for it when I’m in the shower, I’m kind of thinking about what I’m going to play, how I’m going to do things.  And of course warming up and practicing all being part of it.

19. Do you have any suggestions for someone whose interested in pursuing a musical career?

Yeah, I would say you know a lot of practice, of course that’s the obvious thing, but I think too, its good to understand about how the music business works, in terms of publishing, and the mechanics of the record business.  But of course that’s all changing with the internet, a lot of big changes, but its important to keep up with that.  It’s important as a musician to be very well rounded, be able to sight read as well as orchestrate, arrange, as well as being really proficient on your instrument.  It’s good to have the widest variety of music possible.

20. Of all your musical accomplishments so far, what are you most proud of?