2 In Love David Benoit

• 1 Barcelona Nights 03:27
• 2 This Dance 04:30
• 3 Too In Love 05:17
• 4 Dragonfly 02:56
• 5 Love Will Light The Way 03:29
• 6 Love In Hyde Park 03:17
• 7 The Songs We Sang 03:47
• 8 Fly Away 04:54
• 9 Something's Gotta Give 04:02
• 10 Love Theme From Candide / Send In The Clowns 03:42
• Total Runtime 39:21

Info for 2 In Love

For three decades, the GRAMMY®-nominated pianist/composer/ arranger David Benoit has reigned supreme as one the founding fathers of contemporary jazz. But, like an actor who has been known primarily for one role, he wanted to show other dimensions of his artistry, influenced by Stephen Sondheim, Burt Bacharach, Dave Grusin and Leonard Bernstein.

“I’ve done records where I had a token vocal tune, all the way back to my first album,” Benoit says. “But I never did an entire record [with vocals]. So the thought here was to do something really different.”

The result is Benoit’s thirty-fifth recording as a leader and his first with a vocalist. 2 In Love, features Jane Monheit, the GRAMMY®- nominated, cool-toned chanteuse from New York, who burst on the scene in 1998 as the first runner-up in the Thelonious Monk International Vocalist Competition.

“Concord suggested Jane Monheit,” Benoit says. “She was the perfect vocalist. I like to make records a certain way: I prefer to go in live and record it all at once. And a lot of vocalists can’t do that: they need to edit, fix and use auto-tune. But Jane doesn’t need to do any of those things. Many of the keys were difficult, but she sang everything live. Jane also has a background in Broadway, which is another part of my lexicon that I’ve not explored. She was up to the task and easy to work with. She made it a complete, perfect package.”

Along with Monheit, Benoit also enlisted the help of three lyricists: Mark Winkler, Lorraine Feather and Spencer Day. “Mark is my long-time collaborator,” says Benoit. “And I’ve known Lorraine (daughter of jazz critic Leonard Feather) for thirty-five years. Then, there’s Spencer Day: I was really impressed with him. What a nice, young man and fantastic singer. He brought some new blood to the table.”

This terrific triad breathed lyrical life into Benoit’s songs and helped showcase Monheit’s considerable skills as an interpreter. “I met them all,” she says. “They did great work and made it very, very easy for me to do my job.”

Supported by an alternating rhythm section featuring drummers Jamey Tate and Clayton Cameron, percussionist Lauren Kosty, guitarist Pat Kelley and bassists David Hughes and John Clayton (of the Clayton Brothers), Benoit and Monheit swing and sing on ten tracks imbued with, to use Duke Ellington’s elegant phrase, “the feeling of jazz” in ballad, mid-tempo, neo- classical-, Latin-, pop- and Broadway-styled genres that range from the bossa nova-buoyed title track to the optimistic, piano-driven “Love Will Light the Way.” Violinist Michelle Suh and cellist Cathy Biagini add their impressionistic airs to the waltz “Dragonfly,” the evocative, 5/4 time-signatured “Something’s Gotta Give” – originally from a play co-written by Benoit and Winkler about Marilyn Monroe – and “The Songs We Sang,” a beautiful melancholy ballad, originally titled “Out of Tune,” about a couple that wrote hit songs and are trying to reignite their magic.

On the ebullient “Fly Away,” Monheit flexes her considerable vocal muscles. “I had a really great time wailing on that one,” she says, “because it’s a style of music that I don’t often get to sing.” “Barcelona Nights,” is pulsed by an infectious Latin groove, which was inspired by a visit to Spain by Benoit and his wife. “I talked to Lorraine about it,” Benoit says, “and she came up with a beautiful lyric.” On the Pat Metheny-esque “Love in Hyde,” which was previously published under the title “A Moment in Hyde Park,” Benoit showcases his spirited piano prowess. “I recorded it on my second album, Life Is Like a Samba, with a big orchestra. And I always wanted to redo it,” he says. The album concludes a heartfelt solo piano performance of “Love Theme from Candide”/”Send in the Clowns,” by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, dedicated to the memory of Benoit’s mother, Betty June Benoit (1929–1997).

“Those were my mom’s two favorite songs,” Benoit says. “My friend David Pack (who started the group Ambrosia) introduced me to Lenny, and we worked on a benefit concert at Carnegie Hall. I got to know him a bit. So it was always my destiny to do something with “Candide.” And I felt it would make a nice segue into “Send in the Clowns.”

In addition to his obvious skills as a soloist, 2 In Love also highlights Benoit’s overlooked gifts as an accompanist. “He’s a wonderful piano player,” says Monheit. “He has a great understanding of singers, and that makes him a very good accompanist.” When he was coming up, Benoit worked with singers Patti Austin, Connie Stevens, and Ann-Margaret. But he credits Lainie Kazan as his biggest influence in the fine art of vocal accompaniment. “I was twenty-one when I started with her,” he says. “She literally taught me how to accompany singers.”

David Benoit, piano
Jane Monheit, vocals
Clayton Cameron, drums
Jamey Tate, drums
John Clayton, bass
Davis Hughes, bass

David Benoit
Over the last quarter century, composer and pianist David Benoit has been a passionate musical innovator committed to the exploration of many different art forms on the American landscape. A five-time GRAMMY nominee for his seminal contributions to the genre of contemporary jazz, Benoit has also embarked on a multi-faceted journey into the classical music world. This has led to guest pianist and conductor spots with numerous top orchestras, four performances at Carnegie Hall (including one with Leonard Bernstein at the podium), a performance on the steps of the Capitol Building with the National Symphony for the annual PBS July 4th event, and the creation of his new orchestral work, Dolores Del Carmen, and chamber composition, Music for Two Trios. Both new works reflect Benoit’s intentional recent shift toward more classically-focused projects.

David Benoit’s symphonic composition, Dolores Del Carmen, will make its world premiere on June 7, 2008, at the George and Sakaye Aratani Japan America Theatre in the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Los Angeles. Commissioned by the Asia America Symphony, Benoit was deeply inspired to write the new work, as it offers a rich and lasting tribute to his great aunt, Dolores Ellsworth. More widely known to the world as the vivacious Dolores Del Carmen—a noted Flamenco dancer who regularly performed with the legendary José Greco—Dolores’ life, colorful and at times tragic, will be played out to full effect at the premiere with Sir Angel Romero of the famed “Royal Family of the Guitar” as soloist.

At the request of the Ahn Trio, Benoit was commissioned to write a new work for the celebrated sister trio, as part of the Laguna Beach Festival’s first series of specially commissioned works written for the festival’s artists-in-residence. A suite in three movements—“Red, White, and a Little Bluegrass”, “Major Minor Interlude”, and “Conversation”—Music for Two Trios (2006) was well-received at its January 2007 world premiere. Peter Lefevre of the OC Register remarked that “…one could hardly ask for a better example of the Ahn's artistry and mutability, or of Benoit's sophisticated ear. The work's final movement, "Conversation," begins with a fussy, snooty theme in the hands of the cello and violin, and is interrupted after a few bars by a pounding jazz figure… The two musical worlds eye each other warily for a few moments and the fight is on…Benoit has synthesized a wide range of influences here, and created a charming, complex, memorable work. World premieres are not quite as rare as second performances. This is a piece that deserves a life beyond this past weekend.”

Benoit has also written Kobe, a symphonic tone poem about a little girl growing up in postwar Japan. Kobe made its debut with the Philippine Philharmonic in 2001 and was also performed in 2003 with Kent Nagano conducting the Berkeley Symphony. His first piano concerto, The Centaur and the Sphinx, was completed in 2004.

Benoit has lent his conducting talents and piano performance skills to a wide variety of settings. As a conductor, he has performed the music of Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Igor Stravinsky, Camille Saint-Saens, Mozart, Francis Poulenc and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. He has led the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Philippine Philharmonic, Toledo Symphony, New World Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, San Jose Symphony, Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra.

In 2007, David Benoit was honored at the Asia America Symphony Association's Bravo Awards Gala for his seven years of service as Music Director and Conductor of AASA and as Founder and Music Director of the Asia America Youth Orchestra. Through his leadership, Benoit has established the AASA’s “International Composition for Orchestra Competition.” Now in its 6th year, young composers from around the world, writing in various genres ranging from traditional, classical, jazz, to popular contemporary, are encouraged to submit an original orchestral composition. Each year the winning composition is premiered by the Asia America Youth Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Benoit, and the student composer is awarded a scholarship.

His involvement as a guest educator with the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation has taken him to classrooms throughout the country, where he has devoted many hours to teaching children about music; in 2001, he won the foundation’s coveted “excellence in music education” award. He has also been involved with the GRAMMY in the Schools Foundation and was voted Music Mentor of the Year by the International Foundation of Education and Performing Arts (IFEPA).

Benoit has also been a popular film and television composer. His most notable film scores are The Stars Fell on Henrietta, produced by Clint Eastwood and starring Robert Duvall; and The Christmas Tree, produced by Sally Field, voted Best Score of 1996 by Film Score Magazine. His long association with Charles Schulz and the famed Peanuts realm led to over ten years of composing music for Peanuts TV specials on CBS. In addition, he has written the themes for the long running soap opera All My Children (ABC), Sisters (NBC) and scored the movies of the week Final Descent (with the late Robert Urich) and Cadillac Jack (starring Clint Black).

His career as a contemporary jazz pianist began in 1977 and includes 25 solo recordings over the past 28 years. Many of these, including his 1987 GRP Records debut Freedom At Midnight and its GRAMMY nominated 1988 follow-up Every Step Of The Way, are considered influential classics in the genre, which came to be known as Smooth Jazz. Among his other GRAMMY nominations are those for Best Instrumental Composition (for “Dad’s Room,” from 1999’s Professional Dreamer) and Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance (for the GRP All-Star Big Band). Combining two of the musical loves of his life, he recorded 1996’s American Landscape with the London Symphony Orchestra. He was voted Keyboardist of the Year for 2000 and 2001 by the Oasis Smooth Jazz Awards, and landed in the Top Ten on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart with Fuzzy Logic, which spawned the #1 hit instrumental single “Snap!”

Benoit has arranged, conducted and performed music for many popular pop and jazz artists over the years, including Russ Freeman and the Rippingtons (he was involved with the band in its formative stages), Kenny Loggins, Patti Austin, Dave Koz, Kenny Rankin, Faith Hill, David Lanz, Cece Winans, David Pack, David Sanborn, the Walt Disney Organization and Brian McKnight. He also paid homage to one of his chief influences, Leonard Bernstein, by playing, arranging and performing on The Songs of West Side Story, an all-star project produced by David Pack, which achieved gold sales status.

Born in Bakersfield, California, Benoit grew up in the South Bay of Los Angeles. He studied piano at age 13 with Marya Cressy Wright and continued his training with Abraham Fraser, who was the pianist for Arturo Toscaninni. He focused on theory and composition at El Camino College, studying orchestration with Donald Nelligan, and later took film scoring classes taught by Donald Ray at UCLA. His education in music conducting began with Heiichiro Ohyama, assistant conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and continued with Jan Robertson, head of the conducting department at UCLA. He began his career as a Musical Director and Conductor for singer Lainie Kazan in 1976 before moving on to similar roles with singer/actresses Ann Margaret and Connie Stevens.

Benoit has performed at the White House for three U.S. Presidents: Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and George Bush, Sr. Other dignitaries he performed for include Colin Powell, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Senator Dick Durbin and former Los Angeles Mayors Tom Bradley and James Hahn.

He and his wife Kei are the parents of an adopted daughter, June Koko, and reside in Palos Verdes, California. (Source: Boosey & Hawkes)

Booklet for 2 In Love