Andreas Toftemark & Benny Benack III
Biographie Andreas Toftemark & Benny Benack III
Andreas Toftemark
is a 33-year-old saxophonist and composer who currently lives in Copenhagen. Andreas has performed regularly on the New York jazz scene and European jazz scene including Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Brazil, England, Norway, USA, Holland, Italy, France, and Spain; both as a sideman and bandleader.
Education; Andreas holds a BA from The New School of Jazz in New York where he studied with accomplished musicians such as Reggie Workman, Joel Frahm, Eric Alexander, Ben Wendel, and Peter Bernstein to name a few. Furthermore, Andreas has a European jazz Master's degree from Copenhagen, Berlin and Paris.
Sound; Andreas’ sound is intense but round and clearly reflects the many years he has spent listening to the masters of jazz such as Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Lester Young, Barry Harris, amongst others. Although Andreas’ style reflects traditional jazz musicians, he has been exploring many genres and has played everything from traditional jazz to bebop, hardbop, Afro-Cuban, folk music, and contemporary Jazz. Furthermore, Andreas doubles on alto-saxophone and Clarinet.
Benny Benack III
Emmy-nominated Trumpeter and Vocalist Benny Benack III (BBIII) has quickly become a leading voice in Jazz for his generation, headlining clubs and festivals around the world on the heels of his latest critically acclaimed live album “This Is The Life,” which has been garnering thousands of streams and topping the JazzWeek Radio Charts. He is the rare talent who is formidable as a fiery trumpeter -- ranging from Freddie Hubbard to Louis Armstrong and everyone in between -- while as a singer he delivers sly, mature, naturally expressive post-Sinatra vocal stylings.
His sophomore album “A Lot of Livin’ to Do” (2020) featured the likes of bass luminary Christian McBride, achieving viral online fame w/his vocalese rendition of "Social Call," ft. Veronica Swift, which has been transcribed and covered by singers around the world. He has crooned his way to millions more listeners alongside groups such as the Grammy-winning “8-Bit Big Band” and YouTube sensation “Postmodern Jukebox”. His 2023 album “Third Time’s the Charm” went all the way to #2 on the charts, and featured a notable line-up of special guests such as Peter Bernstein, Bria Skonberg, Chad LB, and more.
Benny's double-threat credentials were first apparent when he was a finalist in the 2014 Thelonius Monk Competition on trumpet, before going on to win Third Place in the 2021 Sarah Vaughan Vocal Competition. His resume for both was recently bolstered by Downbeat Magazine’s Readers Poll for 2025, where he placed #1 for Rising Star Male Vocalist, and was also #8 for Rising Star Trumpet.
BBIII's global recognition has been bolstered by his collaborations with the GRAMMY-award winning “8-Bit Big Band,” as well as touring with Postmodern Jukebox. The recent advent of live-streaming concerts has also proved a boon, both through his residency at Smalls Jazz Club, and frequent appearances at fellow superstar Emmet Cohen’s “Emmet’s Place” online series. Benny has established himself as one of the most in-demand touring artists and music educators in the Jazz world, with a seemingly unending intercontinental schedule reflecting his indefatigable love for the music, and with his smile and panache ever on display wherever he goes.
