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Jimmy Bennington
Of Bennington’s recordings: Another friend; the Music of Herbie Nichols is popular throughout Japan and referenced in the only book out on Nichols, A Jazzists Life by Mark Miller (Mercury Press). The Walk to Montreuil is about an American's sojourn through France. Exotic Coda features one of the late Ornette Coleman’s protégés, Demian Richardson and was included in Down Beat Magazine’s, Best Albums of 2014 issue. Other releases include One More Beautiful Ballad featuring Daniel Carter and Ed Schuller (CIMP) and No Lunch in Hackensack (Unseen Rain) with pianist Steve Cohn (New York). Bennington was also honored to be included on Stix and Stones by David Haney that features legendary drummers Bernard Purdie and Han Bennink (Slam 2016). Bennington was also included in the book Dreaming Drums by Christian Ducasse in 2019 (Parenthesis Press, Paris).
Bennington celebrates nearly thirty years in the music field…notable performances with his group, Jimmy Bennington Colour and Sound include visits to New York at the famed Bop Shop in Rochester, the Shape Shifter Lab in Brooklyn, the Jazz Forum at the University of Illinois (Champagne-Urbana), the Chicago Botanic Garden, Arts Incubator (University of Chicago), the Green Mill, Andy’s Jazz Club, Martyrs, Elastic Arts, the 2nd Story, the Whistler, and the California Clipper among others...he has even performed for one of the Presidents of the United States.
The Jimmy Bennington Colour and Sound Trio can be heard regularly at the elegant Rhythm Room Bar and Bistro in Evanston, Illinois.
Bennington is proudly endorsed by Dream Cymbals and Gongs and serves as a Drum Instructor at the Guitar Center (Central Chicago)
“…Bennington has put into motion major activity in the accelerated world of music.” – Delfeayo Marsalis “….Bennington’s unique sound and loose drumming, which doesn’t follow traditional rhythmic patterns and leaves quite a bit of room to freedom.” – Down Beat Magazine
Awards
*Portraits and Silhouettes- Honorable Mention- All About Jazz Best Recordings of 2007 *Inclusion in 'Best Recordings of 2014' Down Beat Magazine (Jan. 2015)
Gear
Slingerland 15 bass drum
Ludwig classic 14 steel snare
Tama toms 13 and 16
Dream cymbals 16 20 and 20
Vic Firth 5a wood tip sticks
Regal Tip wire brushes
Symphonic bamboo mallets
Tags
Take Five with Jimmy Bennington
by Jimmy Bennington
Meet Jimmy Bennington: Jimmy Bennington was born May 22, 1970 in jny: Columbus, OH. Mentored by late Coltrane drummer Elvin Jones, Bennington celebrates 25 years in the music field in 2015. Jimmy has performed and recorded with many artists including David Haney, Perry Robinson, Julian Priester, Steve Cohn, Ed Schuller, Daniel Carter, Ken Filiano, and Fred Jackson of the AACM. Career highlights include performances in jny: Paris and New York, at Fred Anderson's Velvet Lounge, and at the Chicago ...
read moreJimmy Bennington Trio: Another Friend: The Music of Herbie Nichols
by Jakob Baekgaard
The music of pianist and composer Herbie Nichols (1919-1963) has experienced something a renaissance in recent years. This is, in no small part, due to the tireless work of trombonist Roswell Rudd, who has recorded his compositions and published the book Herbie Nichols: The Unpublished Works (2000), containing 27 of Nichols' compositions.
Thus, thanks to the work of Rudd, drummer Jimmy Bennington and his trio have been able to record a tribute album to Nichols: Another Friend: The Music of ...
read moreJimmy Bennington / Julian Priester: Portraits and Silhouettes
by Matthew Miller
Onstage at Spike Hill in August, 2007, a bar-cum- performance space in the bougie heart of Williamsburg, Julian Priester addressed his fans with unadorned deliberateness, the spoken equivalent of his trombone playing. “Music is magical...[a]willingness to expose your most vulnerable self...to discover that it's OK to expose your most vulnerable self. The 72 year-old trombonist has embodied that ethic over a fifty-year career, adding a dimension of vulnerability to a predominantly bop vocabulary and thriving in diverse musical settings.
read moreTake Five With Jimmy Bennington
by AAJ Staff
Meet Jimmy Bennington: James Arnold Bennington, Born 22 May, 1970 in Columbus, OH. He was raised in Detroit, MI until the age of nine when his family moved to Houston, TX. He began music studies there on clarinet, playing the instrument for three years before switching to drums at age thirteen. Primarily self-taught, Bennington played in marching and concert band and small combo groups throughout middle and high school.A highly developed jazz and blues player while in TX, ...
read moreMeet Drummer Jimmy Bennington
by Jack Gold-Molina
Currently residing in Seattle, Washington, Jimmy Bennington began his musical studies as a child in Texas. Having spent two years between 2000-2002 working as a drum tech for Elvin Jones touring the United States and Europe, Bennington is a drummer with a distinctive playing style and he has had the opportunities to work with a diverse array of artists from the jazz and improvised music communities including Gordon Lee, Art Resnik, and Michael Vlatkovich. Bennington currently has two CD releases: ...
read moreJimmy Bennington: Midnight Choir
by Budd Kopman
There is little information included about the music on Midnight Choir to prepare you for the listening experience (though there is a bio of Jimmy Bennington), and the disc starts right off quite abstractly. The first two tracks are attributed to Seth Paynter (sax) and are of a sparse, non-rhythmic, free kind that is more expressionist than anything else. “The Mind"? is made of sax/bass duets, bass solos, drum solos, vocalisms, and the trio playing seemingly without regard to each ...
read moreJimmy Bennington: Midnight Choir
by John Kelman
Free jazz, or avant jazz, is risky business. The best of the bunch show how a group of players can operate in simpatico by virtually creating something out of nothing; or how to create new and unusual sonic textures that take the listener to places heretofore uncharted. The worst sound like a conglomeration of players who are simply generating a lot of unfocused noise. Drummer/arranger Jimmy Bennington, on his début release Midnight Choir , sits conspicuously on the fence; with ...
read moreJimmy Bennington Celebrates 25 Years In Music With Inclusion In "Best Recordings Of 2014" Down Beat Magazine
Source:
Downbeat
Jimmy Bennington/ Demian Richardson Trio featuring Ken Filiano Exotic Coda CIMP Records #403 Once mentored by Elvin Jones, jny: Chicago-based drummer Jimmy Bennington celebrates 25 years in the music business with a series of recordings, the latest of which is a session cut with trumpeter Demian Richardson and bassist Ken Filiano. The program includes mostly originals by either Bennington or Richardson, the latter penning the most memorable tunes, with the swinging “Know More Blues" and a stirring ballad, Moonbeams", The ...
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New Releases from Cadence Jazz Records Featuring Jimmy Bennington and Perry Robinson
Source:
Michael Ricci
"Jimmy Bennington and Perry Robinson show no generation gap. Bennington plays like a veteran and Robinson delivers with a young lion's innocence. This is a pairing that over the past few years seems to have brought out the best in both. Here they stretch out in relaxed but dynamic fashion over three tracks and produce what is arguably some of their finest work to date." --Cadence
A legend from the 1960's, Robinson, who has recorded historic music for the Savoy ...
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Jimmy Bennington Trio - Symbols Strings and Magic (Cimp)
Source:
Master of a Small House
A decade's worth of demos. Such was the gauntlet drummer Jimmy Bennington describes that led to his CIMP debut. Where others might cling to lingering frustration or ire in the wake of such a rigorous set of paces, Bennington's sketch of the anecdote is almost matter-of-fact. Part of that might be because his patient persistence paid off, but there's plenty of evidence that an even-keel attitude is simply indicative of his make-up. The last demo actually became a release on ...
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Jimmy Bennington's Colour and Sound Presents Legendary Clarinetist Perry Robinson
Source:
All About Jazz
AN EVENING OF WORLD CLASS MODERN AMERICAN JAZZ FEATURING INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED CLARINET LEGEND PERRY ROBINSON WITH CHICAGO DRUMMER JIMMY BENNINGTON Celebrating their new release! The Spirits at Belle's (Cadence Jazz Records) Jimmy Bennington's Colour and Sound At Uncommon Ground - Edgewater December 27th, 8:00 - 10:00 PM and... Monday, December 28th, 9:00 PM @ Brown Rice Music Come be a part of this rare event celebrating modern jazz. All shows $10-$20 suggested donation Uncommon ...
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Jimmy Bennington Trio Another Friend; the Music of Herbie Nichols CD
Source:
All About Jazz
Another Friend the music of Herbie Nichols. An adventurous live radio broadcast in the the classic piano trio format, with select compositions, original arrangements, and improvised explorations that offer a fresh glimpse into the rich legacy of Herbie Nichols and his magnificent music.
Personnel Jimmy Bennington (drummer/ bandleader) Michael Bisio (bassist) David Haney (pianist)
Tracks
1. Old 52nd St. Rag 2. Another Friend 3. Ina 4. Prancin' Pretty ...
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From the Chicago Jazz Festival to Paris, France--Drummer Jimmy Bennington
Source:
All About Jazz
Drummer/ Bandleader Jimmy Bennington to play in Paris following a duet performance with legendary trombonist Julian Priester at the 30th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival. Performing at the L'Atelier Tampon-Ramier, Sunday, September 21, Bennington appears with renowned French bassist Benjamin Duboc and special guests. Chicago drummer/ bandleader Jimmy Bennington leaves for a brief stay in Paris following a duet performance with legendary trombonist Julian Priester at the 30th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival, Sunday August 31, 2-3pm, for the “Art of the ...
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Clarinetist Perry Robinson in Chicago with Drummer Jimmy Bennington
Source:
All About Jazz
Chicago based drummer/bandleader Jimmy Bennington brings legendary clarinetist Perry Robinson to the city for three very rare performances. Perry has played and recorded with many jazz greats including Henry Grimes, Archie Shepp, The Brubeck Family, Bill Dixon, and Charlie Haden's Liberation Orchestra. His father was the great American composer Earl Robinson. The master clarinetist and composer will appear at the following:
The Perry Robinson Trio Velvet Lounge (67 E. Cermak Rd./312.791.9050) Saturday September 29, 9-12 midnight, ...
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"Jazz music that treats the drum as an instrument equal to the piano...experimenting with the below the skin deep beauty music has always had, but which few artists have been daring enough to delve into." —Muses Muse, 2003
"Bennington plays with a lot of imagination revealing the influence of Paul Motian, Tony Williams, and Ed Blackwell...very well done...will please fans of abstract modern mainstream." —Cadence, 2004
"...Bennington's unique sound and loose drumming, which doesn't follow traditional rhythmic patterns and leaves quite a bit of room to freedom." -Alain Drouot, Down Beat Magazine, Jan
Primary Instrument
Drums
Location
Chicago
Willing to teach
Intermediate to advanced
Credentials/Background
Although primarily self-taught, Bennington played extensively in Concert and Marching Band throughout Middle and High School. In addition to learning from several great Jazz drummers, Bennington was fortunate to study informally with his mentor Elvin Jones over a period of eight years. From 2000-2002 he served as Jones' drum tech touring the U.S. and Europe. Bennington has several years of private instruction experience that also include drum workshops with the Children's Cancer Association, the VSA Arts, the Sound of the Underbrush Improvising Workshop in Seattle, and the Association of Improvising Musicians Toronto. Bennington currently teaches privately and in conjunction with Flatts and Sharpe Music Co. (Chicago). Daytime hours preferred. Private lessons $50.00 per hour
Clinic/Workshop Information
Photos
Music
Videos
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