Music Review: Benny Benack III Proves This THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM With His New Album

Heigh Ho, dear lovely rainbow tribe, welcome back to Bobby’s CD sandbox where we offer our broken-down breakdowns of new music releases. So, strap in and get ready, as Bobby goes on the record ABOUT the record.

Today’s entry in The BobbyFiles comes from popular New York jazz proficient Benny Benack III, who has been on a steady climb in the industry for a few years now, playing out around the world, sometimes with his name out front, sometimes alongside some of his equally famous friends of the jazz persuasion, but whatever the billing, wherever Benny is playing, he is bound to raise the quality of the musical air in the room.  The vocalizing trumpeter is overloaded with talent, charm, and star quality, live, on the YouTube channels, or on recordings, and this latest disc seems perfectly timed to capture Benack at this time of his life because THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM has a maturity about it that says man, not boy.  It says this is an artist who has been around the block and has many more turns to go around that block.  It says confident, it says smart, and it says, “Play me, again and again.”

Although available on streaming platforms, THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM came across Bobby’s desk in the form of a disc, and inside of that disc Benny Benack has some liner notes that reference his earlier albums but there is also a kind of intimation that this one is where he has been headed, the whole time, and it’s right there in the title, THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM.  Let’s none of us sell short those earlier albums, though, because they are wonderful, but it is true: this one is special.  Kicking off with the title track (that we assume Benack, himself, composed, but there are no track credit listings, grrrr), the tone is set by the laidback, rolling sounds of Benny’s horn and the smooth cool rise and fall of his own vocals.  Working alongside a grand team of fellow musicians, Benack makes the clear announcement that this is equal parts traditional jazz and his own modern spin on the art form.  Making an impressive segue into the Seventies pop song I’LL NEVER FALL IN LOVE AGAIN,  Benny keeps our attention and keeps us bee-bopping along to the festive arrangement that features a gorgeous and glorious solo from pianist Emmet Cohen, solos that continue throughout the album - could it GET better, my angels?!  Yes!  There are fabulous spotlights left and right on THIRD TIME, by way of solos and duets, as Benack welcomes saxophonist Chad Lefkowitz-Brown on two cuts, guitarist Peter Bernstein on three tracks, tenorist Michael Stephenson on two songs, bassist Russell Hall on the AMERICAN WOMAN cover, and vocalist/fellow trumpeter Bria Skonberg on a tee-rific IN A MELLOW TONE.   It’s one of the most rewarding things about the jazz community, as a listener:  you never get just the person whose show you’re seeing or whose album you’re buying - you get them and their friends, so it’s a bunch of brilliant artists for the price of one.
 

The three Bernstein-infused tracks are wildly different, with SCOOTIN’ offering bouncy bop, THANK YOU FOR THE HEARTBREAK providing soulful quiet, and JADE getting all rhythmic and pulsing.  Chad Lefkowitz-Brown’s appearance on the album ranges from hot on CATCHING DRIFT to sultry on TWILIGHT BLUE, and Michael Stephenson’s presence on the album is jammin’ on ROYLIKE and thrilling on PRETTY EYED BABY, a track upon which Stephenson joins Benack on vocals.  It’s a fantastic way to end a wonderful album, an album that shows Benny Benack III off as an equally skilled artist and playful collaborator.  For their parts on the album Russell Hall makes significant contributions to the interesting choice AMERICAN WOMAN and Bria Skonberg brings an elegant and jovial quality to her duet with Benny, as the sole female force on the album.  And, of course, there are all of the collaborations on the album between Benny Benack III and his good buddy Emmet Cohen, with whom Benny works quite often.  This is a partnership that always yields goodness and one that we all hope lasts for the rest of their lives and ours because when Emmet and Benny are in the pocket together, it’s jazz magic.

Of course, with Benny Benack (3) at the head of the project, there is a reasonable expectation of good jazz, good music, and good entertainment because he has been at this for a minute, and he really is one of the best.  They say the third time’s the charm and Benny named the album THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM but it’s clear to see that when the fourth time comes around, it will be charming, too, because THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM gets 

4 ½ out of 5 Rainbows

Pick This One Up For YOur Spotifies: HERE

Catch Up With All Things Benny On His Webbysite: HERE

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