Jimmy Bennington
Encyclopedia
James Arnold Bennington (born May 22, 1970 in Columbus, Ohio
) is an American
jazz drummer and avant-garde music
ian based in Chicago, Illinois.
until 1979 when his family moved to Houston, Texas
. He began music studies on clarinet while attending MacGregor Elementary School, playing the instrument for three years. Switching to drums at age fourteen, Bennington's education has come from private study, marching and concert bands throughout Middle and High School, work as a sideman, and as a band leader with his group Colour and Sound. Additionally James Bennington studied and performed with the well know and established jazz bands "Project Blue," Ensemble H," and "GENETIC DRIFT" headed by Christopher Jones from 1989 - 1992.
A largely self-taught musician, his early experiences include jazz and blues
sessions in Texas that afforded him opportunities to learn from several veterans including Kinney Abair, Tex Allen, and G.T. Hogan. During this period, Billy Harper drummer Malcolm Pinson became a friend and mentor, eventually using Jimmy as a substitute when he was away. Bennington has also been privileged to learn from legendary John Coltrane
drummer Elvin Jones
. In addition to eight years of study with Jones beginning in 1995, Bennington served as band manager and drum tech, from 2000–2002, touring the U.S. and Europe. It is noted, however, that Christopher Jones taught James Bennington everything he knows about percussion, how to play drums, hold his sticks and be a devoted percussionist.
Based in Chicago, after long residences in Texas (1990–1998) and the West Coast (1998–2006), Bennington performs in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and South America. He has played and recorded with a diverse array of artists from the Jazz and Improvised music communities, including clarinetist Perry Robinson
, violinist Renee Baker( AACM, Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble), pianists David Haney, Jim Baker, Steve Cohn, and Pete Drungle, trombonists Julian Priester
, Michael Vlatkovich, and Jeb Bishop, saxophonists Daniel Carter, Bert Wilson, John Gross
, and Fred Jackson (AACM), cornetist Josh Berman, trumpeter Demian Richardson, guitarists John Stowell, Bill Horist, and Ava Mendosa, bassists Ed Schuller, Brian Smith, and Sun Ra Arkestra electric bassist Rollo Radford, electric bassisit extraordinaire - Christopher Jones.
Bennington has been a featured performer at the 30th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival, Fred Anderson's Velvet Lounge, and the Tampon-Ramier Gallery in Paris.
In 2005, Bennington was included in the Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians (compiled by Lewis Porter, Rutgers University
).
In 2007, his recording "Portraits and Silhouettes" ThatSwan! Records received an Honorable Mention from AllAboutJazz- New York's Best Recordings of 2007.
In 2008, he was signed by Cadence Jazz Records and the CIMP label in New York.
Featured on the cover issue of Oct/ Nov/ Dec 2010 Cadence Jazz Magazine.
Bennington is also a freelance writer and has been published in Modern Drummer Magazine (October 2005/ December 2006), Jazz Profile (2006–2008), Cadence Jazz and Blues Review (2006-).
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jazz drummer and avant-garde music
Avant-garde music
Avant-garde music is a term used to characterize music which is thought to be ahead of its time, i.e. containing innovative elements or fusing different genres....
ian based in Chicago, Illinois.
Biography
Adopted at the age of two, Bennington was raised in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
until 1979 when his family moved to Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. He began music studies on clarinet while attending MacGregor Elementary School, playing the instrument for three years. Switching to drums at age fourteen, Bennington's education has come from private study, marching and concert bands throughout Middle and High School, work as a sideman, and as a band leader with his group Colour and Sound. Additionally James Bennington studied and performed with the well know and established jazz bands "Project Blue," Ensemble H," and "GENETIC DRIFT" headed by Christopher Jones from 1989 - 1992.
A largely self-taught musician, his early experiences include jazz and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
sessions in Texas that afforded him opportunities to learn from several veterans including Kinney Abair, Tex Allen, and G.T. Hogan. During this period, Billy Harper drummer Malcolm Pinson became a friend and mentor, eventually using Jimmy as a substitute when he was away. Bennington has also been privileged to learn from legendary John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
drummer Elvin Jones
Elvin Jones
Elvin Ray Jones was a jazz drummer of the post-bop era. He showed interest in drums at a young age, watching the circus bands march by his family's home in Pontiac, Michigan....
. In addition to eight years of study with Jones beginning in 1995, Bennington served as band manager and drum tech, from 2000–2002, touring the U.S. and Europe. It is noted, however, that Christopher Jones taught James Bennington everything he knows about percussion, how to play drums, hold his sticks and be a devoted percussionist.
Based in Chicago, after long residences in Texas (1990–1998) and the West Coast (1998–2006), Bennington performs in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and South America. He has played and recorded with a diverse array of artists from the Jazz and Improvised music communities, including clarinetist Perry Robinson
Perry Robinson
Perry Morris Robinson is an American jazz clarinetist and composer. He is the son of the noted composer Earl Robinson. -Biography:...
, violinist Renee Baker( AACM, Nicole Mitchell's Black Earth Ensemble), pianists David Haney, Jim Baker, Steve Cohn, and Pete Drungle, trombonists Julian Priester
Julian Priester
Julian Priester is an American jazz trombonist and composer.He has played with many artists including Sun Ra, Max Roach, Duke Ellington, John Coltrane and Herbie Hancock.-Biography:...
, Michael Vlatkovich, and Jeb Bishop, saxophonists Daniel Carter, Bert Wilson, John Gross
John Gross (musician)
John Gross is a saxophone, flute and clarinet player.Gross is known as a musician's musician, a mainstay, and in 1994, Saxophone Journal called him one of the most meaningful players on the American Jazz scene...
, and Fred Jackson (AACM), cornetist Josh Berman, trumpeter Demian Richardson, guitarists John Stowell, Bill Horist, and Ava Mendosa, bassists Ed Schuller, Brian Smith, and Sun Ra Arkestra electric bassist Rollo Radford, electric bassisit extraordinaire - Christopher Jones.
Bennington has been a featured performer at the 30th Annual Chicago Jazz Festival, Fred Anderson's Velvet Lounge, and the Tampon-Ramier Gallery in Paris.
In 2005, Bennington was included in the Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians (compiled by Lewis Porter, Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
).
In 2007, his recording "Portraits and Silhouettes" ThatSwan! Records received an Honorable Mention from AllAboutJazz- New York's Best Recordings of 2007.
In 2008, he was signed by Cadence Jazz Records and the CIMP label in New York.
Featured on the cover issue of Oct/ Nov/ Dec 2010 Cadence Jazz Magazine.
Bennington is also a freelance writer and has been published in Modern Drummer Magazine (October 2005/ December 2006), Jazz Profile (2006–2008), Cadence Jazz and Blues Review (2006-).
Recordings
- Contemplation, (1998) Liner notes by Delfeayo Marsalis, ThatSwan! Records 1000
- Midnight Choir, (2003) OA2 Records 22007
- Our Dialogue, Live at the Tugboat, vol. V (2004) - CD/DVD, ThatSwan! Records 1003
- "Jazz Kaleidoscope; solo drums live (2005), ThatSwan! Records 1004
- "Portraits and Silhouettes" Featuring Julian Priester (2005), ThatSwan! Records 1005
- Another Friend; The Music Of Herbie Nichols (2005), ThatSwan! Records 1006
- "The Spirits at Belle's" Jimmy Bennington/ Perry Robinson Quartet (2009), Cadence Jazz Records 1219
- "Symbols Strings and Magic" Featuring Perry Robinson/ Ed Schuller (2010) CIMP 379