David Benoit (musician)
| David Benoit | |
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David Benoit at Jazz Alley March 16, 2007
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | David Bryan Benoit |
| Born |
August 18, 1953 Bakersfield, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz, smooth jazz, easy listening |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Labels | AVI, GRP, Peak |
| Website | www |
David Benoit (born August 18, 1953) is an American jazz pianist, composer and producer from Los Angeles, California. Benoit has charted over 25 albums since 1980, and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards. He is also music director for the Asia America Symphony Orchestra and the Asia America Youth Orchestra.
David Bryan Benoit was born in Bakersfield, California on August 18, 1953. 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 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. Most recently he worked with Jeffrey Schindler, Music Director for the UC Santa Barbara symphony orchestra.
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. 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 subsequently re-released on the GRP label.
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