Marco Benevento (born July 22, 1977) is an American pianist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, who has been a fixture of the New York experimental musicrock and jazz scene since 1999. He is the founder and recording engineer of Fred Short, a recording studio in Upstate New York, and a member of the rock groups Benevento/Russo Duo and Joe Russo's Almost Dead, both of which feature his regular musical collaborator Joe Russo.
Early life
Benevento was born in Livingston, New Jersey, United States, in 1977.[1] He began playing piano at age seven. In his early teens Benevento was drawn to his four-track recorder, synthesizers and making home recordings. Benevento attended Ramapo High School and performed with various rock and experimental bands in Northern New Jersey and New York City. He graduated from Ramapo High in 1995 and Berklee College of Music in 1999.[2]
Benevento's first studio album as a pianist, Invisible Baby, released in 2008, was nominated for Independent Music Awards Jazz Album of the year. Me Not Me, his second release, is a mix of original songs and covers such as "Heartbeats" (The Knife) and "Golden (My Morning Jacket). Benevento's third album, Between the Needles and Nightfall, was released in 2010 and his fourth album, Tigerface, was released in 2012. Tigerface features singer Annakalmia Traver of the band Rubblebucket and drummer John McEntire of Tortoise. Throughout all of his recordings Benevento plays an acoustic piano that is amplified by using pickups and effected with various effect pedals. He also makes use of circuit bent toys, drum machines and other synthesizers. Performances with his band include SXSW, Celebrate Brooklyn!, Carnegie Hall, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the Pickathon Music Festival, and the Newport Jazz Festival.
Benevento toured with Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz and drummer Andrew Borger from 2012 to 2016. In 2016, Karina Rykman took over on bass for Dave Dreiwitz who had started touring again with Ween.[4] In 2017 David Butler took over on drums when Andrew started playing with KD Lang and Pink Martini.[5]
A fan of circuit bending, Benevento uses modified electronic toys to compose music. When playing with his band Marco amplifies the piano with guitar pickups and other effects. He has toured and performed with a modified acoustic piano, toy piano, Yamaha CP60, speak & Spell, glockenspiel, Rhythm Ace Drum Machine, Wurlitzer and Rheem Organ. Benevento's equipment includes a Casio sampling keyboard, effects pedals, a Hammond organ (with bass pedalboard) and a Wurlitzer electric piano.[8]
