Benny Benack III

This is the Life

Bandstand Presents

Trumpeter-vocalist-composer Benny Benack III is one of those rare triple threats. Benack just oozes charisma at every turn, bringing energy and joy to every performance. Benack was recently voted #1 Rising Star Male Vocalist and #8 Rising Star Trumpeter in the 2025 DownBeat Readers Poll. When he takes to the mic for a vocal, he’s got that Frank Sinatra-like entertainer thing down too. Benny is of the same generation as his colleagues on the album – pianist Mathis Picard, bassist Russell Hall, and drummer Joe Peri. This is the Life is a live album recorded at the Blue Llama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Third in a generational line of Pittsburgh jazz notables, Benny follows in the footsteps of his trumpeter/bandleader grandfather Benny Benack Sr., his saxophonist/clarinetist father Benny Benack Jr., and his mother Claudia Benack, a voice professor at Carnegie Mellon University who’s instructed the likes of Josh Groban, Leslie Odom Jr., and many more. Benack Jr. appears on tenor saxophone and clarinet, and has been dubbed the “Godfather of the Pittsburgh scene.” We then have one of those rare father-son teams. I can only think of Kamasi Washington and his dad, Kenny Washington, as a current working team.

Leading with the spirited title track, we hear Satchmo-like trumpet and his amiable vocals. Benack turns crooner on the Rodgers-Hammerstein “The Sound of Music,” replete with graceful solos from Picard, Hall, and a teeming turn from the leader. Original “Song for Our Roger” is an original tribute to legendary Pittsburgh drummer Roger Humphries, who recorded with Horace Silver on the classic Song for My Father. The song honors his Pittsburgh roots and features his dad on a lyrical tenor solo. The elder Benack returns for an inspired clarinet solo on “When You’re Smiling,” a popular staple in the trumpeter’s live performances, one where he displays his monstrous scatting skills. “Sugar & Spice” is another original with impressive unison lines from him and his dad before his dad rips off a terrific solo, followed by a blistering trumpet solo in this fully instrumental piece. Hall delivers a potent individual statement as well. The band settles into a late-night ballad on “Crazy She Calls Me,” one of Benack’s strongest vocal takes with sublime piano from Picard and a deeply emotive trumpet solo.

A string of standards follows. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s charming “Some Enchanted Evening” features both Picard and Benack infusing their solos with blues, making way for drummer Peri on the breaks. Interestingly, both this track and “Song for Our Roger” are the two studio tracks, hence the lack of applause, which certainly surprised me. “Spring in Manhattan” is a mid-tempo vocal tune that proves a feature for Picard’s gleaming piano and a wonderful, almost a cappella ending by Benack. Anthony Newley’s “Pure Imagination” has Benack raising the roof on trumpet and more terrific piano by Picard. Finally, Rodgers and Hart’s “Blue Moon” shows how the quartet can play with lovely, delicate restraint behind Benack’s uniquely phrased vocal.

“Without a Love,” an original, is mostly an animated exercise in scatting with audience participation, finding this weird balance between the zany and pure fun. The set concludes with a enthusiastic pop number, “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” an odd choice from the Backstreet Boys but one that captures the energetic vibe of his opener.

This is the Life captures the stirring vitality of Benny Benack III, one of today’s brightest stars who consistently brings smiles whenever he takes the bandstand.

• Jim Hynes

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