Fans of High Sierra know Marco Benevento. He’s the exuberant, youthful piano wunderkind that appeared many times -- with The Slip and Nathan Moore in Surprise Me. Mr. Davis, as half of experimental rock group The Duo with drummer Joe Russo, and as leader of his own jazz/rock trio. While Marco’s work is rooted in jazz (having studied at Berklee School Of Music, his work knows no bounds and is ever-expanding to include indie rock, jam band, modern pop culture, and post-rock/experimental influences. Born in and raised in northern New Jersey, Benevento formed a popular Boston-area improvisational outfit called the Jazz Farmers, which continued when Benevento resettled in New York City in 2001. Running into his old middle school buddy Russo at a Medeski, Martin & Wood gig, Benevento accepted an invitation to perform a series of duo gigs at the Knitting Factory, which turned into a full-time partnership as the Benevento/Russo Duo. Tying into Russo's roots in the jam band scene, the duo also spent much of 2006 touring as half of former Phish leader Trey Anastasio's backing band. In 2007, Benevento began a live residency at the New York club Tonic, which led to the August 2007 release of Live at Tonic, a three-CD set taken from those shows that ranges from traditional small-combo jazz to post-rock/experimental soundscapes. Benevento signed to Hyena Records and released Invisible Baby in 2008 with bassist Reed Mathis (Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey and Tea Leaf Green) and drummers Andrew Barr (the Slip) and Matt Chamberlain. It was followed by Me Not Me on Royal Potato Family in 2009 with the same players. Benevento recorded 2010's Between the Needles & Nightfall for Royal Potato Family with Mathis and Barr. It’s always a pleasure to have Marco on hand at High Sierra.
