David Bryan Benoit (born August 18, 1953) is an American jazz pianist, composer and producer, based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Benoit has charted over 25 albums since 1980, and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards.[1] He is also music director for the Pacific Vision Youth Symphony (previously known as the Asia America Symphony Orchestra) and the Asia America Youth Orchestra. Furthermore, crediting Vince Guaraldi as an inspiration, Benoit has participated both as performer and music director for the later animated adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip, such as the feature film, The Peanuts Movie, restoring Guaraldi's musical signature to the franchise.
Early life
David Bryan Benoit was born in Bakersfield, California, on August 18, 1953.[2][3] He studied piano at age 13 with Marya Cressy Wright and continued his training with Abraham Fraser, who was the pianist for Arturo Toscanini. He attended Mira Costa High School.[4] 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 L.A. Philharmonic, and continued with Jan Robertson, head of the conducting department at UCLA. He worked with Jeffrey Schindler, Music Director for the UC Santa Barbara symphony orchestra.
Career
He began his career as a musical director and conductor for Lainie Kazan in 1976, before moving on to similar roles with singer/actresses Ann-Margret and Connie Stevens.
His GRP Records debut album, Freedom at Midnight (1987), made it to number 5 on Billboard's Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.[5] Benoit also says that it was his favorite album to produce, because it was when "everything came together," as he stated in an interview on SmoothViews.com. An earlier "live in the studio" (direct record, no mixing or overdubs) album on Spindletop Records, This Side Up (previously 1986), was re-released on the GRP label.
Waiting for Spring (1989) made it to number 1 on Billboard's Top Jazz Albums chart.[5]Shadows, from 1991, made it to number 2 on the Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart.[5]
Out of respect for one of his main influences, Bill Evans, he dedicated his 1992 album Letter to Evan to him.[6]
Many of his songs employ a string section, most notably on his American Landscape (1997) and Orchestral Stories (2005) albums.
In 2000, after the death of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, he released a memorial album titled Here's to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years!. Collaborators included the chorus group Take 6, guitarist Marc Antoine and trumpeter Chris Botti. He also scored several "Peanuts" animated television specials, emulating the style of Vince Guaraldi. The album made it to number 2 on the Top Jazz Albums chart.[5] An earlier cover of Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy", recorded in 1985 for the aforementioned album This Side Up, enjoyed notable radio airplay and helped to launch the smooth jazz genre.
The Benoit/Freeman Project album was given 41⁄2 stars by AllMusic, the highest rating Benoit has received from the service, and the album made it to number 2 on the Top Contemporary Jazz Albums chart from Billboard.[5][8]
^Gilbert, Mark (2002). Kernfeld, Barry (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. p. 191. ISBN1-56159-284-6.
^Yanow, Scott. "David Benoit". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
